Disclaimer: read chapter 1 to find it, thanks… On to the story, also this chapter is mostly a filler to bring it up to the start time for the Manga and Anime series.
Chapter 2 – Over the years…
After his discharge Naruto would spend quite a bit of his free time with the girl that talked 'funny'. He became more involved in learning, since his new friend needed to learn how to speak his language and for her part she would teach him some of hers. The first month in the hospital was frustrating, but eventually they were able to carry on simple conversations, but the girl seemed to be mean to those around them, all except for him, for some reason that he couldn't fathom. After the month she was moved into the apartment next to him. He would occasionally watch her while she would practice a weird style of taijutsu. He did notice her mannerism had lightened and was still somewhat cold to others, but for the most part she was kind to him and seemed to be getting kinder.
After seeing his interest in her and not because she was just a girl, she began to teach him her kata and he would talk to her about what he learned in school. This brought on several trips to the library and eventually her entry into the academy in his class, no less than a month later. She did make him put some distance between himself and several of the girls in the class. She didn't like the way they or others were treating him. Also as much as it pained her at the moment she told him to say that she was his girlfriend, even though he was only eight. This gave him some modicum of happiness, but also it kept the boys at bay especially the Inuzuka boy, even though the boy was only eight.
It didn't miss her observant eyes that the Hyuuga girl kept stealing glances at Naruto. It wasn't like she cared all that much about who liked the boy, but she was beginning to have some feelings towards him. How couldn't she? The boy was the kindest person and seemed to care for her without asking for anything in return. He also proved to be very ignorant, not truly stupid, but he needed a lot of work.
She didn't like how the village treated him and would listen in on what they would say around him. She also spent several nights comforting the boy after the occasional tongue lashing or a beating from the other children. Her eyes were opened to just how cruel she was when she was the princess of the Fire Nation by what was happening. She kept most of her information to herself though, but she informed the Hokage and Naruto about the truth. The fact that she was a fourteen year old girl trapped in the body of an eight year old body didn't seem to phase her for some reason. Although she wasn't happy about having to revisit puberty and all the 'fun' that would be for her, she thought to herself.
She also got the Hokage and Naruto to agree to a marriage contract between herself and Naruto. Azula got Naruto to agree, by using his wanting to be needed and telling him that others more than likely would mistreat her, while he would be a loving husband. She figured that the council and the elders of the village would force her into a marriage that wouldn't be to her benefit. She also figured out Naruto's secret in the next couple months. She then devoted herself to learning sealing and what could be garnered from such an endeavor.
She like Naruto found the academy to be boring, but also believed that the lack of early instruction had hurt 'her' Naruto and now he was behind and didn't have the resources to catch up. Without her help that is, so she meant to fix this. She would spend the evenings with Naruto training and teaching him what was needed to pass class. She also figured out why he was having such a problem with a simple 'Clone' technique. It was simple, he had too much chakra. She had approached the teacher, Iruka about chakra control exercises, but most were 'boring' in Naruto's opinion, so she would incorporate them into the pair's evening training schedule, mostly, as cool down exercises. This was mostly effective. If that failed to catch his attention, she would help him plan pranks on those who would be mean to him or just to test their skills.
Iruka was pleased that Naruto seemed to be more responsive during class, at least somewhat, but also was having problems dealing with his prankster attitude. It didn't help that Azula seemed to enjoy when Naruto would pull his 'Sexy' technique on adult males that annoyed him. He was almost sure that Azula had posed nude for him, so as to try to help him with the technique, but he couldn't prove it.
Azula for her part wouldn't tell Iruka or the Hokage whether she had posed for Naruto. She for her part enjoyed his 'Sexy' or 'Centerfold' technique, because of what it would do to most males, especially perverts, while she did deserve some part of the blame for the technique, since she did pose nude for her fiancé a few times. She figured it wouldn't do to have him embarrassed to see her in the nude when they eventually wanted to have children.
She knew that Naruto was too young to be a pervert just yet, but she wanted him to be hers, thus making it easier to control and thus protect him. Over the next few months her feelings for the boy intensified. She also shared what she had learned about Naruto with the boy, this was the source of both a joyous and nerve-wracking night for both of them. She had broken the news to him about his being a jinchuuriki and that it was the reason for his treatment by the villagers. She also explained that it didn't change a thing between them. She still cared deeply for the boy who saved her and stuck with her when others grew too frustrated with her and gave up.
There was a single incident that helped galvanize his wanting to help Naruto. He had wandered out of the village to check out a dead body of a shinobi from another village on a bet. Azula had alerted him to this, as soon as she had gotten into the class and it was verified by Shikamaru. Iruka and Kakashi spend the good portion of an afternoon retrieving the errant Naruto. This resulted in a tongue lashing from both Iruka and Azula. The boy who dared Naruto didn't escape unscathed either. They would have to deal with pranks for a month, much to their and their parents' regrets. Azula's cruel side showed through with these pranks. Most caused pain and none were life threatening, but it did attract the attention of the Hokage, so she had to stop her assault on the boys.
She admitted to him that while she wasn't sure what to call the feelings she had, but she called it love. The news of a girl loving him was too much and the floodgates of emotion opened and they spent the night in each other's arms. It would have been cute, if someone else had seen it, but alas no one else knew. They both woke to the other in her bed, where they had been the night before. She leaned in and kissed the boy a surprise to both of them. It was light and quick, but seemed to last forever for the two of them. She made him promise to not tell anyone about either him learning about the Kyuubi being sealed within him or their first kiss.
Over the next year the boy, Sasuke had a tragedy happen, his family had been killed by his older brother. Naruto tried to approach the boy, only to be challenged by his fan club. This confrontation brought a smile to the faces of two girls, Azula and Hinata. The training with Azula had done wonders for his reaction speed, timing and his technique. The pink haired girl Sakura took a swing at Naruto, but was surprised when he sidestepped it and then pushed her down to the ground, more out of instinct than actual thought. This angered several of the other girls and they proceeded to move in and attack the blonde boy. He would block the punches or divert them into another girl and thus avoid being injured. This went on for about ten minutes. Until Iruka entered the room to find Naruto in a defensive battle with the Sasuke fan club, made up of about two-thirds of the girls in the class.
After watching this for a minute, he decided to stop the fight and chastised Naruto for starting a fight, but Azula recounted what had happened and got Naruto off the hook, well sort of. He and the girls had to stay after school and write on the board about fighting in class. Azula had to stay afterwards for questioning Iruka on his double standard of Naruto being beat up before and the girls not having to stay after for attacking a fellow student.
During the next few years the Hokage learned that Naruto knew about the Kyuubi being sealed within him and there wasn't much he could do. During that time Azula had worked with Naruto on creating clones and while he couldn't create just one, he was able to create dozens that were at least passable in a single pass. Also with her training he started to learn how to airbend. This surprised her since he seemed to be a natural with the kata she had taught him, based on what Aang had taught her to relax. She decided to wait on other kata until he was able to get this kata down. The thing that surprised her was that she intimately knew how to airbend, but didn't have the ability, like some thing of Aang was with her.
The Hokage had declared, secretly, that the 'Uzumaki' clan had a bloodline that allowed them to control fire and air more than any usual techniques. This information was only allowed to the elders and the clan council only. They did find it interesting that Naruto and Azula could control fire and Naruto could control air, but thought it would be good for village, as a whole if they had children later.
Also Azula caught Hinata peeking in on a training session of the two of them and she forced her to join them. This worked out well for Azula in that it gave her leverage over the Hyuuga clan and gave Naruto a new friend. While Hinata was shy at first, Azula scared that out of her and over the next couple of months it was brought out that Hinata both wanted to thank Naruto for her rescue and to inform him that she had feelings for the boy.
There was one exciting encounter with Hiashi, when he came to the training grounds where the trio were training. He acted angry, but Azula pointed out the pride in his eyes at his daughter's improvement. He couldn't deny the pride that Azula pointed out and actually admitted to it. He left with a smile on his face and saying that his daughter was in good hands. A few days later Hinata actually beat Hanabi in a spar, much to the surprise of those in observance, except for maybe Hiashi.
Uchiha Sasuke did happen upon the trio on several occasions to the point that Azula thought that he was actually spying on them. Sasuke of course denied it, but the scroll with his observations on it was the deciding factor of his guilt. He was warned about stealing clan secrets and it was left at that.
The day of the final exam found Naruto ranked in the middle of the class, while Azula and Hinata were both hiding their skills to make sure that they also were in the middle of the pack. This had disturbed quite a bit of the village that Naruto was doing so well, but the Hokage kept things under wraps, mostly to keep Azula from burning down half the village. He had seen an errant jounin piss of the girl and watched, as she sent a lightning bolt into the hapless man.
The biggest problem for the Hokage was , who was going to be on which teams? He thought about splitting up the trio, but also found that he had other problems. Several of the jounin instructors wanted certain students, but he also had to balance out the teams. Kakashi wanted both Naruto and Sasuke, since he figured that either Azula or Hinata would be on the team, but that would truly be an assault team without par. There also seemed to be a rivalry between both boys that seemed to go deeper than just a playground rivalry. Even Azula and Hinata expressed that they were not willing to be around the boy for extended periods of time if they could help it.
Several of the instructors wanted to teach Azula, since she was considered a protégé, but she was careful to keep most of her skills under wraps, so as to not garner as much attention as she did when she was the princess.
Working with both girls had brought up Naruto's perception and he noticed things differently then he did before. He noticed how superficial most of the girls in his class were and he noticed that his previous crush on Sakura was just that, a crush that shouldn't have happened. He now tolerated the girl. He would only work with her in groups, since he believed that if he couldn't become a great shinobi initially, he would allow others to help him become great while helping them out along the way.
Naruto entered the classroom where Iruka and Mizuki were testing the prospective students in ninja techniques, since they had finished all other portions of the exit exams. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him and he recognized it to be a genjutsu. He put his hands into a ram seal and whispered, "Release." A wave of chakra washed over the room.
"What was that Naruto?" Iruka asked.
Naruto scratched the back of his head and replied, "I felt a genjutsu, so I broke it. Now can we do this test?"
Iruka shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "We need a substitution, a transformation and three clones for you to pass," Iruka explained.
Naruto nodded, changed places with a chair and back again. He then changed into Iruka, Mizuki, Azula, and then the Hokage. He then created nine clones that seemed to be nearly perfect.
Iruka smiled, but Mizuki frowned and said, "We wanted only three clones not nine, so I'm sorry, but you fail."
"Can't be done, I have too much chakra to create any fewer clones without them looking sick," Naruto explained.
"I'm sorry, but the rules were we that we needed three clones," Mizuki explained with a bored look.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and then replied, "So if I had the reserves of a jounin and the control of academy student, you would punish me for not having the reserves of a student and the control of a jounin? Great, chakra control is a good thing, but it isn't everything."
This confused both Chuunin and Mizuki finally said, "I don't make the rules. I can just tell you that you don't pass. I'm sorry Naruto, but those are the rules."
Naruto looked at Iruka and asked, "How did I score on the written test?"
"You got nearly ninety percent Naruto. Why?" Iruka asked in reply.
"And how was my weapons portion?" Naruto asked, attempting to keep his anger under control.
"You did just as good, as Sasuke in weapons," Iruka replied.
"So you're failing me because I did more than the recommended number of clones?" Naruto asked angrily.
Iruka looked at Mizuki who just nodded and then said, "I'm sorry, Naruto, but you were asked to do three clones, not nine. We can't pass you because of the rules."
Naruto gave Iruka a sidelong glance that actually sent a chill down his spine. The boy left the room without anymore comment. Sasuke smirked, as he watched Naruto come out of the room without a headband and said, as Naruto went to his chair, "So the Dobe strikes again."
"We knew that you couldn't do it," Sakura added in. Naruto stood and left the class room at a walking pace. Sakura smiled and said, "Yah, get out you freak and don't come back."
Azula didn't know what was going on, but held her headband in a tight grip while glaring at the 'last' Uchiha and his pink haired fan girl. Hinata wore a worried look on her face, but didn't say anything, while she shared a glance with Azula. Both nodded at the same time.
Iruka entered with a sour look on his face, but Mizuki had a slight smirk, with both Hinata and Azula caught immediately. "Enough class, now congratulations on becoming shinobi of the Leaf. Go outside and meet with your families," Iruka said in a lackluster voice.
Outside there was a hustle and bustle of children showing off their headbands to their excited parents. Off in the distance a lone figure was rocking slowly on the rope swing in below a tree. Several of the onlookers made several derogatory comments towards Naruto, but also tiptoed around the subject of the Kyuubi, for fear of reprisal from the Hokage.
Naruto looked up when a darker shadow eclipsed the partial sun under the tree. Naruto looked up to find a sad, but smiling Mizuki. "What do you want, Mizuki-sensei?"
Mizuki sighed and then said, "I know that Iruka and I were being hard, but that is our job, but I would like to talk to you about something special…"
Naruto nodded and followed the teacher away from the academy grounds, while the Hokage, Iruka, Azula and Hinata all frowned at the sight of Naruto following Mizuki.
Azula found Naruto hitting a post a couple hours later and could tell that he was really pissed, given the scorch marks on the post where his hands had hit it. He had the beginnings of firebending, but not the control, thus the reason she forbid him to practice until he had more control of the other styles. She heard him muttering about how stupid both of the teachers were and how they wanted him to do a special project to let him pass. Azula rolled her eyes at this, but then an idea came to her head and she asked, "What little project did they want my Naruto to do? And don't give me any garbage about it being secret. I'm your wife in all but name right now, so there are no secrets."
Naruto sighed and recounted the story of what Mizuki had told him. A shiver ran down Naruto's spine when he saw the smile on her face. "What do you want me to do?" he asked timidly.
"I want you to follow through with the plan, but I will inform the Hokage of this, just to make sure that you are safe. My precious, Naruto," she replied, while pulling him into a gentle kiss.
Naruto had finished reading the note from the Hokage and copying several of the techniques from the scroll. Some were mildly scary, while others were just too scary to believe that Mizuki would want to take this scroll. Heck Naruto was of the mind to challenge Mizuki to do one of the techniques, just to be rid of him. While he understood about the Shadow clone technique, he didn't study it. He did on the other hand rest up and begin his breathing exercises. While Hinata and Azula waiting in the wings to help him with Mizuki when the Chuunin arrived. What caught him off guard was Iruka showing up.
He did his best to hide the surprise and tried to pass off this encounter as a fluke. "So did I pass? I got the scroll from the old man with little problem and have learned a technique from the scroll," Naruto explained to Iruka who wore a look of confusion.
Azula and Hinata gently slapped their hands to their forehead in recognition of Naruto's acting stupid, yet again. They watched from a distance to make sure that Iruka and the expected Mizuki didn't overwhelm their Naruto.
"What are you talking about and why did you steal such a dangerous thing, as the scroll of sealing, Naruto?" Iruka asked.
Iruka had tried to push Naruto aside, but Naruto had just evaded him, as Naruto slid around Iruka, his hands were covered in wind and the kunai that would have hit Iruka were deflected. This confuse Iruka, since Naruto didn't call out any technique, he just seemed to move the air around him.
Mizuki was surprised, but also annoyed that the both the brat and Iruka had avoided his attack. This was going to get harder, but an idea came to him. "Hand over the scroll, Naruto and I'll let you in on a little secret… that the whole village has kept from you your entire life," he said coyly.
Naruto wore a look of excitement merged with longing, but Iruka yelled, "No, Mizuki! It is forbidden!"
"See Iruka, doesn't want to tell you. You know why? Because the Kyuubi wasn't killed twelve years ago… it was sealed in you, so you're the Kyuubi," Mizuki hastily explained.
Naruto wore a look of annoyance and then replied, "If that is the only secret, then you don't have to worry about me being the Kyuubi. I already know about the sealing, eventually I will have to control the beast anyways, but you on the other hand are a traitor." A smile came across Naruto's face and a look of surprise came across Iruka's. Suddenly Mizuki felt his legs give out from underneath him and he was falling towards the ground. He quickly used his hands to catch his landing only to have to abandon his limb he would hang from, because a blue flame hit the spot where his hand just was.
He hit the ground hard and then tried to get up only to find an angry Iruka, Hinata, Azula and Naruto staring him down, all of them in an attack stance. A chill ran down Mizuki's spine when he felt wire suddenly wrap him up and a smirk on Naruto's face. "You demon! I won't let you kill me!" he exclaimed, only to go unconscious with a tap from Hinata to the back of his head.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, while the Hokage smiled and took a drag on his pipe in his office. "So Naruto-kun… Do you think that you're ready for the life of a shinobi? Mizuki is just the first of the people that you will have to deal with that are out to get you and you being the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi won't help matters much," he explained.
"Bring it old man," Naruto exclaimed, much to the delight of both Azula and Hinata.
Sarutobi smiled warmly and then said, "Very well then. For protecting the village against an enemy from within, I do herby promote you, Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Azula, and Hyuuga Hinata to the rank of Genin. Just be sure to be at the academy for team assignments and also look underneath the underneath to find the right answer."
A/N: I have revealed some of the information that you have requested, but not all. Can't give away all the secrets at once…
If you're wondering, Azula got to live a second childhood with Naruto. This along with some other things have had a profound effect on who she is, but as you can tell she is still a plotting person and always thinking ahead.
As for the languages they are using, I would have to say that they are using the common language for their world and region, since the entire Avatar world seems to use the same language. Characters, aka written words are based upon our world Chinese for Avatar and Japanese Kanji/Katakana for Naruto, thus the similarities, since there are some similarities between the two.