A/N: Here's the latest installment of Ripples. I don't own Naruto or any characters/settings/etc. from the Narutoverse.

Thanks to those of you who have reviewed. I am really trying to incorporate the things I'm told, so please follow up and let me know if you feel like I addressed the issues.

Chapter 4: Academy Days

Naruto's training with Ken had gone shockingly well. The kid wasn't a genius, but he was dedicated. By the time he'd been enrolled at the Academy, he'd already mastered tree climbing, was working on water walking, had learned all the basics of Ken's Shinken taijutsu, which was basically an adaptation of Ken's sword techniques designed to make a smooth transition between hand to hand and sword combat, and had been training with chakra weights on his wrists and ankles totaling 40 pounds of extra weight. Until Ken was willing to start training him with the sword, there was little more to do than keep building what he already had learned. In Ken's mind, though, the most impressive thing of all was that Naruto had been true to his word. Never once, in the admittedly brutal training, had Naruto ever complained or quit. On multiple occasions, in fact, Ken had been forced to knock the boy out just to get him to go to sleep for the night. Perhaps Ken's biggest achievement, on the other hand, had been convincing Naruto that he should hold off entering the academy for an extra two years. It took a two hour meeting with both Ken and the Hokage explaining to Naruto that it was actually because Naruto was "too awesome," as Ken had put it. That had calmed him down quite a bit, and Ken then explained that, until Naruto had at least a decent grasp of the water walking test, he simply had too much chakra and not enough control for the academy jutsu. But now, they had stalled as long as they possibly could. Naruto was now able to stand on the water, and even make it half way across the pond before falling in.

But today was the beginning of the true test. It was Naruto's first day at the Academy, and while he was anxious to show what he could do, he was also nervous. After all, he remembered how things were before his brother showed up, and the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of people he didn't know without Ken there was tough for him. "You ok there, little man?" Ken's concerned question pulled him out of his thoughts and he realized he was almost to the entrance of the school. "You kinda spaced out on me there, bro. Ah, is my widdle brudder scurred about his first day?" That snapped him out of it. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and gave Ken a serious glare. Of course, the glare only got more intense when Ken laughed at him. "Haha! That's more like it. Welcome back, Naruto. I was wondering where you went." Ken then tilted back his hat and got down to Naruto's eye level before continuing, "Look, I know it's tough. Starting at a new place, not knowing anyone, and all that. But trust me on this, you'll be more than fine. Don't worry about impressing anyone, just be you. And hell, if anyone crosses you, just prank them. In fact, that's your new training mission from me. Over these next four years at the academy, I want you to prank everyone who crosses you, student and teacher alike. But you can't get caught. If they catch you, then I'm going to go all out on you in our sparring sessions with Matomeyaku."

Naruto's eyes widened, first from shock at being given an order to prank, and then fear at the idea of getting a beat down from Ken's sword. Then an idea occurred to him. "Ok bro, but what do I get if I don't get caught?"

Ken stood up and began scratching his chin, having not really thought about a reward for success. "Alright little man, I think I have just the thing. If you pull off your pranks without them being able to prove you did it for this whole year, I'll start training you in sword play. Every year that you succeed, I'll up the training. If you make it through all four years, I'll even forge you your very own Heiwa blade."

Naruto's jaw hit the ground. "A Heiwa blade? You mean it? I'll get a sword like Matomeyaku?"

"Kind of, but not really," Ken started to explain. "I'll explain it more as we get closer, but every Heiwa blade is different, it's a reflection of the one who wields it."

"Well then, you better get started on that sword, bro!" shouted Naruto, at his normal volume. Of course, that meant it was loud enough that most of Konoha heard it.

Ken just shook his head and chuckled. "We'll see about that, alright? But seriously man, remember, be yourself. You're the strongest little dude around, and nothing this school can throw at you can keep you down unless you give up. And if I'm not mistaken, I vaguely remember someone promising me they'd never quit."

"Damn straight I did! And I never break my promises!" declared Naruto, now fully recovered and ready for whatever would be coming his way.

"Alright then little man, I'll be back at the end of the day. Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone." With that, Ken left for the Hokage Tower. Sarutobi had called him in, saying something about finding something for Ken to do with his spare time. After being escorted into the office, Ken waited patiently while the Hokage finished some of the mountains of paperwork piled high on his desk.

"Thank you for coming, Ken. If you'll give me just one second," said Sarutobi as he went through a series of hand signs to set up a privacy jutsu. "There, now we can speak. How did Naruto handle you dropping him off at the academy?"

"Eh, the little man was pretty out of it at first. But we took care of it." Ken laughed lightly before continuing, "You'd be surprised what a little brotherly taunting can do to drag someone out of a funk."

The aged Hokage chuckled and shook his head. "You have truly done wonders for the boy, Ken. If he goes through the academy at the normal pace, he'll be a genin in four years," he continued, with his face and voice both becoming more serious and somber, "and your job as his bodyguard will be at an end."

Ken's face dropped as well, accompanied by a sigh. "I know, and I've been thinking about that a lot. I've grown rather attached to the little man over the years, but at the same time, I've already stuck around here way longer than I had ever intended to. Besides, I really don't have a way to make money here, and before you even offer, I refuse to take handouts."

The Hokage gave a slight nod in understanding, before the corner of his mouth began to turn up slightly into the beginnings of a smirk. "If I could provide you with another job, would you be interested?"

Ken couldn't hide his shock. "Um, well…What kind of job?"

"Oh, don't worry about that too much for now. We have four years to sort that out still. I just need to know if you would be willing to stick around. In the meantime," Sarutobi continued, his smirk now at full force, "I was thinking that, what with all your spare time while Naruto is in class, perhaps you could provide lessons in swordsmanship to some of our current genin and chunnin. It will, of course, come with a substantial pay increase."

For the first time in years, Ken looked at the Hokage with his emotionless visage before speaking in the matching tone, "Lord Hokage, while I am indebted to you and your village for the kindness you have shown to me, my family's techniques are not something which I have any intention of passing on to people I do not know." Mentally adding, 'Especially when some of them are probably the same people who attacked Naruto.'

"Of course not!" Sarutobi replied, apparently offended at the suggestion that he would even ask such a thing. "Ken, I have no desire to have you teach your family style of fighting. I am asking for you to help them improve their own. We have only a handful of shinobi who use anything other than the standard kunai or shuriken for weapons, at least amongst those who haven't already reached jonin level. To be completely honest with you, I figured we would use these next four years as an extended interview for you. If we see the improvement we are looking for, and the position is agreeable to you, perhaps it could serve as a means of keeping you in Konoha after Naruto graduates."

"Lord Hokage," Ken continued in his emotionless, all business voice, "If the Leaf has so few swordsmen, why push for it now?" It wasn't like Ken wasn't grateful, but he was still wary of teaching sword techniques to ninja. Naruto was one thing. After all, he's family. But other than that, his family had been specialists for fighting against ninja. The idea of helping them was pretty foreign to him.

"Two reasons, really. First and foremost," the aged Hokage replied, matching Ken's businesslike approach, "sword techniques could potentially elevate the battle capabilities of ninja who lack the chakra for powerful ninjutsu, thereby increasing our village's strength many times over. And secondly," at this point, his face softened a bit, "I can't stand the idea of Naruto losing his family if it can be helped."

That did it, Ken lost his front, dropping his head before chuckling and saying, "Ok, you got me. I'll give it a shot. I can't promise anything, and I'm not going to teach them anything other than basic stances and swings. After that, I'll coach them through spars, but they'll be on their own for developing a style to suit them."

"Excellent," came the excited reply of the elderly leader. "I will begin sending you pupils within the next week or so."

"In that case, I think I'll go wander the town for a bit and enjoy my last few days of freedom 'til then."

Back at the Academy

After getting dropped off, Naruto's day had gotten off to a rocky start. His classmate's reaction to him when he entered the room was almost entirely cold or indifferent. In spite of his big grin, the faces that were looking back at him were largely glares. 'Well, this is familiar,' he thought, more than a little upset at the reminder of his normal treatment from the adults in the village. The only friendly face in the room was the teacher, a chunnin with a huge scar on his nose. In his desire to get out of the line of fire, Naruto made his way to the back corner of the room. Things got a little better once the teacher, Iruka, started the lesson. Everyone was too focused on what he was saying to glare at Naruto. He wanted to pay attention, he really did, but come on, this stuff was soooooo boooooring! I mean, come on, this history stuff was a waste of time. The stuff on the Hokages was pretty cool, but the old man had already told him most of that stuff. Only his desire to stay on Iruka's good side kept him from voicing his complaints.

Instead, he settled for scanning the room. His first goal was to locate all possible quick escapes. Call it paranoia if you want, but years of barely contained hatred will do that to a child. Besides, it wasn't just in case he was attacked. He also needed to know how to get away after a prank. Once he had established all possible routes, he began to look at his fellow classmates. A few caught his eye fairly quickly.

First was the black haired kid at the front in the blue shirt. The crest on the back of his shirt was a dead giveaway. The last Uchiha, Sasuke. Naruto didn't know much about the late Uchihas, only that it was Sasuke's brother who killed them. The kid sitting there brooding didn't bother Naruto too much. Sure, it was Naruto's polar opposite, but whatever. After all, everyone deals with the crap life piles up in their own way. Naruto took to faking happiness, mainly to spite the people trying to make him miserable, and the Uchiha took a different path. Who was he to judge? What did piss him off, though, was the way most of his female classmates were reacting to the kid. 'You've gotta be kidding me! We're 8 freaking years old and the girls are already going for the bad boy crap?'
Sasuke's fan club was pretty non-descript for the most part, but two stood out from the rest. Mostly by pure volume. First was a girl dressed in purple with blond hair, alternating between longing stairs at Sasuke and a death glare at the pink haired girl who was apparently her main competition for Sasuke's non-existent affections. Something about the second girl, the one with pink hair, caught his eye in a big way. He couldn't put his finger on it, but for some reason he really wanted to get to know her.

After that, Naruto recognized members of some of the clans that the Hokage and Ken had talked to him about. There was a Hyuuga sitting towards the back of the class, looking very nervous about something. Every now and then, he'd catch her looking his way before snapping her head back to the front of the room. It made him a little nervous, like maybe she was planning something, but something about her face just radiated innocence. In the row in front of her was a Nara, currently asleep, next to an Akimichi, currently pounding potato chips like nobody's business, and an Inuzuka playing with his dog. Other than that, there was a boy in a trench coat with sunglasses that Naruto assumed to be an Aburame.

Just before his boredom could fully claim him and make him do something truly stupid and regrettable, Naruto heard Iruka say the words he'd been waiting for, "Alright everyone, that's enough lecture for now. Let's head outside and put some of this into practice!" Now was Naruto's time to shine!

…Or not. 'Damn it! Bro never showed me how to use weapons!' Sure enough, the first two exercises were throwing kunai and then shuriken. After watching the Uchiha nail 10 out of 10 like it was nothing, Naruto figured it couldn't be that tough. His confidence started to nose dive pretty bad when nobody in the next five students could hit more than three targets. Most of the kids that caught his eye did better than that though. The Nara, Akimichi, and Hyuuga each hit seven, while the Inuzuka, the blond, and the pink haired girl (Ino and Sakura, if he heard Iruka right) all hit five. Finally, it was his turn. 'Alright, no problem. Just aim and toss.' In spite of his little self-pep talk, he still put way too much effort into his first throw, missing the target completely. At first, a lot of the kids were getting ready to laugh, until they saw the kunai buried half way into a tree a good five yards behind the target. After flashing an exaggerated, nervous smile, he took a deep breath to compose himself, and tried again. The rest of the way was much better, he managed to hit seven of the next nine throws, putting him into a four way tie for the second best score. When trying to fit in, most people would probably try to play it off as no big deal, maybe a smile or a small fist pump. If there is one word that would never be used to describe Naruto, however, it was normal. "Damn straight! I'm awesome and it's my first time even handling the damn things!"

"NARUTO!" yelled a clearly pissed Iruka. When Naruto turned to him sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, Iruka calmed a bit before continuing. "Naruto, that was a very good job, but try to control yourself a little, remember, a ninja needs to be stealthy, so let's try practicing that a bit, eh?"

Naruto managed to look a little bit ashamed of himself and apologized, "Sorry, Iruka. I was just really excited. I'll try to keep it in check."

Iruka, whose expression had softened considerably, turned back to the class as a whole. "Ok everyone, that was a good start. Beginning tomorrow, we'll be working on technique and helping you improve. For now, I'm going to pair you off for some taijutsu matches. These will be straight taijutsu, so no weapons or jutsus. Any questions?" Seeing the mix of anxious and nervous faces, he decided it was time to start. By the time the matches were winding down, Iruka was pretty impressed with the talent of the class. The clan kids had all won their matches fairly easily, although Sasuke had gotten a little carried away. His opponent suffered no serious damage, but his eye was blacked and much of his body was covered in swelling bruises. There were only two students left, Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki, and the chunnin was pretty sure he knew how this would play out. He expected that Naruto would basically attempt to street brawl while Kiba would use his clan's techniques to pick him apart. Naruto probably wouldn't go down quickly, the street may not do much for technique, after all, but it is a sure fire way to toughen a kid up.

Imagine his surprise, then, when it was almost an exact reversal of his prediction. Naruto took an odd stance. He was facing Kiba, but only with his head. His right shoulder was directed towards Kiba, as was his right foot. His torso and left foot, on the other hand, were facing towards the side. But what really had Iruka, and if he had to guess, the rest of the class as well, really confused were his hands. His left hand was at his left hip, and his right hand was in a loose fist a few inches away from his left. 'What in the world is that stance? It almost looks like he's getting ready to draw an invisible sword.' If only he knew how close he was.

In his distracted state, he forgot to say start, which gave Kiba the opportunity to mock his opponent. And he'd be damned if he'd let an opportunity like that slip by. "What the hell are you doing? That's the dumbest stance I've ever seen."

Naruto was barely able to keep a lid on his anger as he snapped back, "Careful, dog boy. My bro taught me this style, and if you mock him or what he taught me, I'll kick your ass."

The Inuzuka boy's growl finally snapped Iruka back to reality. "That's enough of that, you two. Begin!"

Once he had the go ahead, Kiba dropped to all fours before launching himself straight at Naruto. The kid was fast, and using his arms as well as his legs to push off probably made him the fastest kid in the class. Unfortunately for him, Naruto hadn't been training to fight academy students. As soon as Kiba had begun his charge, Naruto had crouched down further in his stance, turning his upper body until his back was almost facing Kiba. Once Kiba was about to strike, Naruto launched himself forward, brought his two hands together at his hip, and then used his momentum, combined with twisting his torso back to face forward to bury his right elbow into his opponent's stomach. Everyone, including Iruka, watched in stunned silence as Kiba was launched a good 30 feet away before coming to a stop and emptying the contents of his stomach onto the grass.

The rest of the day was pretty boring, more lectures, this time about what chakra was and how it was used to do jutsus. More crap he'd already learned from Ken. On the upside, Naruto had noticed some differences in the way his classmates looked at him already. They still weren't friendly, but they were at least appraising, trying to figure out what to make of him, instead of looking at him like he was crap. Hell, during lunch, the mighty Uchiha had even graced him with his presence. Granted, it was just to ask him about his taijutsu, and Sasuke was an arrogant prick the whole time, but at least he'd caught his eye. The real shock was when he was invited to eat with a group of guys. The Nara, Shikamaru, invited him to eat with Choji Akimichi, Kiba, and himself. Kiba wasn't thrilled, but after a bit of trash talk back and forth, and Saskue's lunch mysteriously exploding into an orange mist, all while Naruto had an impish grin on his face, Kiba decided that this could be fun after all.

Finally came the moment Naruto had been waiting for all day, the final bell. In spite of himself, he was nervous. Yeah, he was looking forward to seeing Ken, but after a few minutes of waiting, seeing parents picking up their children and shooting nasty looks his way, some old insecurities started to show up. "Yo little man! Sorry I'm late, the old man just wouldn't let me go!" Recognizing the voice, Naruto couldn't help himself. He turned to face Ken, and ran full tilt into him, knocking the man on his backside. "Hey now, bro. What's this all about? You have a rough day?"

"No, today was fine. You were just late, and, well, I…" He couldn't finish his sentence, but his eyes said it all to Ken. It had been an accident, but by running late, he knew Naruto thought he wasn't coming back.

"Pick your head up, squirt. I'm sorry I was late," he said, the sincerity dripping from the words, "but you need to remember, I've promised to protect you, and I never break a promise. You're my little bro and I'd never just ditch out on you. Got it?" Seeing the boy's face resume its normal smile, Ken's mood improved too. "Tell ya what, I want to hear all about your day, but I know I'm not the only one. Rather than making you tell it over and over again, what do you say we go get the old man and head over to Ichiraku's so you can tell us all about it in one go?"

"I say what the hell are we waiting for?" Naruto practically screamed, getting up and racing towards the Hokage tower without even waiting for Ken.

Ken couldn't help but chuckle as he got up and chased after the boy. 'I've got a feeling that these next four years are gonna fly.'

Ken couldn't have been any more right. The next four years had indeed flown by. Ken had been shocked to discover how much he enjoyed teaching swordsmanship, and the Hokage had been ecstatic at with the results that had been produced. Many of the career genin were now no longer an automatic liability in battle. The drastic improvement amongst the lower ranks had even sparked some interest from the jonin. All in all, Ken had to admit he had been impressed by these shinobi, though two intrigued him more than any other. First was a girl from the class ahead of Naruto's, Tenten. When she first came to Ken, she used swords the same way she used kunai, namely by throwing them with deadly accuracy. When she demonstrated this, Ken was stuck between being impressed and being pissed off.

Ken's first day of training Tenten

Ken was not particularly looking forward to today. Not only was he training another group fresh out of the academy, but their jonin instructor was Gai, the weirdest ninja in a village full of odd balls. After being introduced to Neji, Tenten, and Gai Jr., or Lee, he gave each of them a practice sword, only to have Tenten pull out her own from a scroll she was carrying. 'This could be interesting. If she is already familiar with a sword at this point, that will make things a lot easier.' "That's a nice blade. Tell ya what, show me what you can do with it." With that, he had her and Lee square off for a quick spar. "Alright, since this is my first time seeing you in action, use these kendo sticks instead of a real blade. Go all out, you shouldn't be able to do any serious damage to each other with these, and once I see what you can actually do, it'll make the teaching that much easier. Ready? Begin!"

Much to Ken's shock, Tenten instantly jumped back, creating room between her and Lee before jumping into the air and throwing the bamboo sword at her teammate like a spear. Apparently Lee was just as surprised, because rather than blocking, he got nailed dead center of his forehead, and was down for the count.

"What the hell was that?!?!?!" Ken screamed out at her. Seeing her shocked look of terror, he took a deep breath and tried again. "Look, if that's your idea of swordsmanship, we're wasting our time here. While what you just did is impressive, it's not swordsmanship. A sword, more so than any other weapon, is an extension of its wielder. A sword is a partner. It will defend you, it will cut down your enemies, and, if used properly, it can make a talented genin a match for a skilled chunnin."

End Flashback

Once he had finished his lecture, Tenten threw herself into the training all the way. While she was still predominantly a long range fighter, that was more due to her support role on her squad than a reflection of her skills. In fact, anyone who forced her into close combat would almost certainly regret it. Especially since, over the course of the year she spent training with Ken, she had found a way to modify a typical katana for her unique skills. It had been a fairly simply, but truly ingenious, matter of attaching a long chain to the hilt of the sword, turning it into a weapon resembling the bastard love child of a sword and a flail.

Then there was Naruto. The little man had become a well known prank master. Of course, the real reason for his fame was the fact that he was the Teflon man, nothing stuck to him. The glint in his eyes and the smile on his face was enough to let you know who had done it, but the kid was good. There was never a shred of evidence beyond the fact that he had motive and ability. In fact, more often than not, the evidence would somehow wind up pointing to one of his earlier victims. Just as Ken had hoped, Naruto's use of the Shinken taijutsu made for an incredibly easy transition to true Shinken. The katas were largely the same, the main difference being that now, instead of using punches that were similar to thrusts and swings, you were actually using those moves. Ken couldn't help but think the word "prodigy" was designed for Naruto, but he'd never say that to him. Don't misunderstand, Ken told him he was exceptional and praised him for his hard work and progress, but he'd seen the prodigy label inflate far too many egos to saddle his little bro with the title.

Speaking of the blond, perhaps the best part of the four years was watching his life turn around. In spite of their parents' warnings, his classmates couldn't help but be drawn towards him. This isn't to suggest that he had a ton of close friends, but he wasn't a loner either. He was currently ranked second in his class behind only the Uchiha in the overall standings, but that was largely due to the written tests. He and Naruto had an almost even split in their taijutsu matches, and Sasuke still had the slight edge in kunai and shuriken throwing. On the other hand, even though the academy didn't offer training with swords, Sasuke had acknowledged Naruto's skill after an unofficial sparring match between the two with kendo sticks.

While the two certainly wouldn't be considered friends, there was definitely a high level mutual respect for the other's skills in their rivalry. Not that such respect covered up the fact that Naruto thought Sasuke was an arrogant, spoiled child. Or that Sasuke thought Naruto was a hyperactive idiot. One of the biggest changes was in the Uchiha fan club. Their numbers hadn't dwindled much, but their enthusiasm had. With this Uzumaki kid being an even match for Sasuke, the group found itself divided about whether a mysterious brooder or a happy go lucky charmer would make a better target. Ino stayed very strong in her belief that Sasuke was clearly the better catch. As she pointed out, Sasuke and Naruto might be even now, but Sasuke still hadn't unlocked his Sharingan. Naruto, coming from no clan, wouldn't possibly be able to keep up at that point. Sakura, on the other hand, had taken to being very quiet during these debates. In truth, she was torn. She didn't think Sasuke was an arrogant ass like all the other guys in her class claimed, but she also had to admit that Naruto was much warmer. Something about his smile and the sincerity of those eyes, it just brought a smile to her face. She couldn't remember anytime Sasuke did something that gave her that feeling. On the other hand, he left her awestruck by his skill, and there was definitely something about that bad-boy attitude that was very cool.

Naruto had become very close with Shikamaru and Choji. In spite of himself, he had found that there was something truly wonderful about the Nara's favorite past time, cloud watching. It really was a great way to relax and just collect his thoughts. Yes, he had thoughts. He was surprised to find that out, too. And in Choji, well, there he had found a fellow ramen aficionado. Choji's love for ramen wasn't as pure as Naruto's, since Choji felt the same way, if not stronger, about barbeque pork, but Naruto was willing to look past that.

While he wasn't exactly close with Shino, Kiba, or Hinata, he got along well with all of them. Shino's silence, which he had first found disconcerting, he now found he appreciated. After all, for someone as off the wall as him, having a calming, steady presence around was a nice balance. Kiba was really funny. Sometimes, it was even on purpose. Most of the time, Naruto just loved to let Kiba talk long enough to have his mouth write a check his ass couldn't cash, and then Naruto would prank him, getting away with it, of course. This would naturally rile Kiba up to the point that he would try to get even, only to have his pranks backfire. Sometimes going off on himself, other times accidentally catching Iruka. Eventually, during their third year in school, Kiba had begged for a truce, and Naruto complied. They wound up becoming fairly regular sparring partners. Naruto won most of the time, but once Akamaru started getting into the mix, it became much tougher. Hinata was a true mystery. While she was obviously one of the most kind-hearted, caring people Naruto had ever met, she always seemed to be sick. It was like every time Naruto would see her, she was either battling a fever or suffering from fainting spells. It made it difficult for Naruto to really get to know her.

Today had been especially awesome. Naruto and all his friends had just passed the genin exam, making them all official shinobi of the Leaf. As a reward, he and Ken were going have dinner with the Hokage in his office. In spite of his giddiness as they were making their way from picking up dinner at Ichiraku's, Naruto couldn't help but notice Ken seemed a little out of it. "Hey bro, you ok?" he asked, the concern evident in both his voice and his face.

'Ah crap. I must really be looking it if I'm obvious enough pull him out of his ramen/ninja joy.' "Hehe, yeah, definitely little man. I just can't believe how quick these four years have gone by." Ken tried to make himself look like he was just being nostalgic, knowing that if anyone was going to see through a fake smile, it would be Naruto. After all, the kid had spent more than half his life faking his own happiness. Content that he was buying it, at least for now, Ken decided to change the topic quickly. "You know, I'm not supposed to tell you this, so make sure you still act surprised, but the old man told me he was going to have a couple congratulatory gifts for you tonight." He couldn't contain his laughter as Naruto reacted exactly like he hoped he would.

"WHAT?!?!?!" he shouted, now literally bouncing off the walls, lamps, and anything else they happened to walk past. "What kind of gifts? Are they awesome jutsus? Is he ready to retire and name me his successor now?"

"Haha! Calm down, bro! We'll find out when we get there," he replied, now wearing a genuine smile, his inner turmoil from before now long gone.

"And don't think you're off the hook, either, Ken!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Ken.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ken asked, more than a little nervous. 'I thought for sure the gifts would get him off my weirdness earlier.'

"I made it through all four years. I've graduated. I've pranked." As he said this, Ken's face relaxed, now knowing exactly where this was going. "You owe me a sword!"

Ken had to chuckle and shake his head. "I know, I know. Don't worry, shrimp. We'll get started with that tomorrow. I would have tried to have it ready for you, but you have to help me make it."

"Really? That's awesome!" he practically screamed while throwing his fist into the air. "But wait, why do I have to help?"

"I'll explain tomorrow when we get started. For now, let's enjoy our dinner." At this point, Naruto finally realized they had reached the Hokage tower. Before he could enter, Ken stopped him and winked, "Remember, act surprised."

It had been a truly phenomenal night. In addition to enjoying a ton of ramen and loads of laughs, Naruto also got some incredible gifts. The Hokage gave him a scroll containing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, complete with a list of the potential advantages in terms of reconnaissance and training, and a book on sealing. At first, Naruto was trying to fake being excited about the book on seals, until Ken told him that seals were actually going to be a big part of forging his own Heiwa blade. But what really made Naruto excited was when the Hokage let him know that the author of the book was none other than Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. After that bit of information, Naruto practically crushed the old man's rib cage with hug-tackle. The final gift of the night was a slab of some weird black metal from Ken. Much like the book, Naruto was puzzled until Ken told him that this metal was the special chakra ore used to forge Heiwa blades. As Naruto was looking between his gifts, he couldn't help but think that there was nothing that could ruin this day. That was, at least, until he saw the serious and somber looks the Hokage and Ken were exchanging. "Hey. Are you two ok?"

Ken, exchanging one last look with Sarutobi, turned back to Naruto with a sad look. "Bro, we need to tell you some things. I don't think you're going to like them, but we both think you need to know."

Then the Hokage, his face and voice both carrying all the weight of his many years, continued, "Before we do that, though, we need to make sure you understand some things. First of all, what we are going to tell you doesn't change anything about you. Nor does it change how we see you or how we feel about you. Understood?"

At this point, Naruto couldn't hide his terror. He didn't know what was coming, but if it was this serious, he was pretty sure he didn't want to know. At the same time, part of him knew that if it was so important, he needed to know. Between fighting back the beginnings of tears in his eyes and not trusting his voice, he settled for a slow nod to the Hokage, encouraging him to continue.

Ken dropped to one knee, taking off his hat and making sure Naruto was looking him in the eye, and got started. "Naruto, do you remember the story about how the Fourth Hokage defeated the Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded slowly, his voice shaking as he said, "Yeah, he gave his life to kill the Kyuubi and save the village."

Now it was the Hokage's turn. "That's not actually true, Naruto." Seeing the complete confusion on the boy's face, he continued, "He did battle the fox, and he did give his life to defeat it, but killing a beast like the Kyuubi is impossible, even for a ninja of his incredible skills. He used his cunning and skill with seals to trap the demon in a vessel. However, the only vessel capable of holding such terrible chakra without being destroyed and releasing the beast was a newborn infant…" He tried to continue, but couldn't.

Ken looked at Naruto's face and saw that he wasn't going to piece it together on his own. Who could blame him? Even if it weren't for the fact that he had spent his whole life being told something completely different, nobody would want to accept such a terrible truth. "Naruto, you were that baby."

At this point, Naruto's head snapped back to Ken's. His eyes held nothing but terror, shock, and the beginnings of understanding. "So that's why…" he said, barely even in a whisper, "that's why they all hate me. It's because I'm the Kyuubi. I'm the dem..."

Before he could even finish the sentence, Ken had him up in his arms, threatening to crush him in a hug. Naruto could feel the water running down his cheeks, but he could also feel Ken's tears soaking through the shoulder of his shirt. "Don't you even think about finishing that sentence!" Ken sobbed, in a powerful, emotion filled whisper. "You are not a demon. If you were a demon, you would have killed all those people who attacked you. Instead, you swore to get strong, to protect those same ignorant bastards who hated you. You are the strongest, kindest little man this world has ever seen. You're a damned hero already, whether those pricks want to acknowledge it or not. Your strength and your heart are the only things keeping this damned village safe from the demon. So if I ever hear you call yourself a demon again, I'm going to kick your ass. You get me?"

Naruto's last walls broke down. He wrapped his arms around Ken's neck and just sobbed into his shoulder for the better part of a half hour, until he was so tired that he passed out still in Ken's arms. Meanwhile, the Hokage could only smile sadly. As Ken prepared to take Naruto home and put him to bed, Sarutobi called out to him, "Ken? I and this village owe you a tremendous debt. You have continued to be there for Naruto like I can only wish I could. If there is anything you need that is within my power as Hokage to give you, you need only ask."
Turning and giving the old man a kind smile and head nod in acknowledgement, Ken left. Once he had Naruto in bed, Ken sat on the floor, with his back resting up against the foot of Naruto's bed and settled in for a night of very light sleep, waiting for the first sounds of movement. He wanted to make sure that when Naruto woke up, or if he had any nightmares, he would know that Ken was right there with him.

A/N: There you have it, the newest chapter of The Ripples. It also happens to be the longest chapter I've ever written. Anyways, I am really enjoying writing this, and I'm loving the response I'm getting from you guys. It feels awesome to see that I have been added to update alert lists and gotten reviews. Keep em coming! I feel like I'm improving as a writer, but I have a long ways to go yet, and your input is hugely beneficial for getting where I want to go.