If one saw the banner Bakura had made for the Kaiba group the day before, they would wonder why he had all those weird pictures on it instead of normal words.
If they had been able to read Ancient Egyptian, they would have known he was up to something and warned the Hokage immediately. But alas, they couldn't read the heiroglyphs or known the meaning of the words on there.
"WELCOME RICH BOY, MIDGET, MUTT, SCHIZIOD, SEER, FRIENDSHIP CHEERLEADERS AND YANDOUSHI!"
When the group processed what the thing said, they were stunned. Who the hell had come up with that, and where did they learn how to paint heiroglyphs.
Naruto and Hinata walked up, wearing the odd get up Bakura gave them. They had the hoods up and were wondering why the group looked freaked out. Naruto spoke, and they gave each other an odd look.
"Bakura-nii wasn't kidding when he said Yugi Muto was barely taller than I am!"
The white haired one had wide eyes, and said, "Ano...did you just say Bakura? And why are you wearing those robes?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Bakura-nii said it would be funny. In fact...he's late!"
They got rid of the robes, since it was just for a shock. Underneath they had odd items around their necks which glittered.
Naruto was given a strange Ring with five points and the eye of Horus. Hinata had a choker like necklace with the same symbol. The group gaped.
Kiba walked up with an upside down pyramid, Shikamaru with a T shaped bauble with wings, Sasuke with an Ankh shaped key, Chouji with the scales, and last but not least, Shino came out tossing up a thing that looked far too much like an eye.
The academy students looked confused at the shocked faces of the group. Finally, the older tanned woman (Isis) asked "Where did you get those?"
Malik suddenly yelped, as someone had snuck up behind them, holding a camera. It was the voice that made them jump though.
"I gave them to the kids. They're not real though."
Ryou yelped.
"Bakura?"
"Yo," said Bakura, giving them a two fingered greeting. Ryou backed away nervously...until Bakura was glomped by the blond.
"Bakura-nii! You're late!"
"Bakura...nii?" Yugi looked confused and worried.
"I'm the kid's only family. And instructor in magic."
"While this is fascinating and annoying, where is the one that was assigned to be our guide?" drawled Kaiba.
Bakura's smirk sent shivers down the brunettes spine.
"You're looking at him. Leaf Chunin Bakura Uzamaki at your service."
Yugi choked.
"You mean you...?"
"I am a qualified shinobi on the payroll who happens to be a Chunin. And not bloody likely to return to torment you when I could go to the Sand village and assist the Pharoah's new hikari in beating the crap out of him."
Yugi had an odd look on his face, and Bakura explained.
"Yes, the Pharoah has been given a new hikari...only this time he has royally screwed up. His pining for the good ol' days was about to drive the poor kid insane. If you don't try to Shadow Game me, I'll even give you the kid's name. Agreed?"
Marik had one question, "If you're here and the Pharoah is here, then is...?"
"He's currently in a rogue nin who slaughter that kid's entire family except for him. I'm not too sure if it's because Marik was inside him or if he finally had it with his father's overbearing ways about him being a prodigy."
Sasuke's eyes widened. Itachi was possessed when he killed his family? What if it wasn't him that did it, but the spirit? Bakura saw his look, and said, "I will explain later Sasuke. Time to get these folks situated into the Inn."
The group, which consisted of four women and six men, immediately put their things away, since they would be staying for three weeks and then went to Bakura for explanations.
He took them and the academy students to a BBQ place, and the students all ordered up and began eating as soon as the meat arrived. Chouji was officially the cook.
Bakura sat down, and found Naruto right next to him, with Ryou on his other side.
'A meeting of the hikari, eh?'
"First off, how the hell did you end up here and in physical form?" asked Yugi.
"I asked that same question of Ra, the second I realized what happened. And you know what that cheeky god said? It's called reincarnation, you twit."
Bakura scowled. Naruto grinned and lightly punched him. Much to the shock of the group, Bakura gave the small blond a genuine warm smile. Ryou nearly fainted from shock. Bakura promptly turned the meat before it burned. Soon they were trying out the food, and found themselves enjoying it...despite the fact that they were in the company of the one who used to plague them.
Bakura explained how he got the new body, and the situation in the Leaf concerning his brother. When he brought up the former Pharoah, Yugi perked up...until he heard how miserable Atem had made the kid.
The fact that the gods had to give Bakura a body so he could tell the boy how to ditch him for a while just made him droop. Still, at least he knew where his old Yami was.
Yugi was surprised to learn that Naruto was training to become a shinobi like Bakura and he was currently the reigning Duelist champ of the Leaf village. Yugi grinned, and challenged the blond to a duel. Apparently the other cadets and patrons heard him, because soon there was a crowd surrounding them to watch.
Bakura actually said something about that, smirking the whole time.
"Most of the spectators want to see Naruto taken down a notch."
"Why?" asked Anzu.
"Because instead of pranking like he used to, he's been beating jonin and chunin left and right with his deck. You'd think they'd want the kid to keep dueling instead of painting the Hokage monument like we did last week."
Seeing their confusion, he jerked a gloved thumb to the mountain.
"Each face carved up there is a Hokage. The only one currently alive is the third. The fourth died sealing off my current rant buddy."
Malik choked off his laughter.
"Rant buddy?"
"Yup. We alternate every other time on who rants about who they despise. It'll be his turn next time...and I love the rather creative ways he has planned for those he really doesn't like."
Malik was snickering as Yugi was actually having to pull strategies he hadn't used in years to just keep Naruto from kicking his ass. Kaiba was thoroughly impressed with the small blond. Bakura had to add his own two cents when Yugi finally lost the first game since he claimed the title of King of Games from Yami.
"Hard to believe the loudest ninja in training could beat someone who's not only older but taller than him!"
Malik and Kaiba actually laughed outright.
Naruto looked sheepish as he beat Yugi. But when Bakura praised him, he cheered right up. Ryou was still floored at the idea of a kind Bakura. Still, he was invited to the apartment by the blond. He decided to ask Bakura how to get back to the Inn later.
Ryou smiled at the little chatterbox who called the voice from his nightmares brother. It seemed like Bakura had geniunely changed in order to protect a lonely child. He chatted with the boy, who actually expressed an interest in Tarot divination, which Bakura had mentioned off hand.
Since he had his deck, he showed Naruto the cards, and even did a reading.
What he found shocked the hell out of him.
His past read like a tragic tale. Hated and never loved. He was an orphan by birth.
His present read Love and hope. Bakura had changed the boy in more ways than one.
His future...read trials and uncertainty. The boy had a destiny in front of him, and whatever caused his parents to die would both help and hinder him in many ways.
His love...was entirely uncertain. He had feelings for one who had none for him, while another watched from the shadows, never speaking aloud their feelings.
Naruto was interested in learning how to use the cards, so Ryou decided to teach him. He was delighted to learn that the boy was a very quick learner. Aside from a few corrections, Naruto soon had the cards down. Ryou had a spare deck he was originally going to get rid of...because it had this odd habit of giving the reader more information than asked.
Instead, once he was sure Naruto had gotten the hang of the art, he decided to give it to the small boy. Who was delighted to get something from someone who knew his big brother before he met him.
Ryou had finally asked what Naruto's life had been like before the gods sent Bakura, and from what the fox had observed...he realized his old tormentor was trying to change.
Before Bakura would simply take over and shadow game anyone who remotely pissed him off. He never gave a damn about his hikari, even going so far as to allow serious harm to him. He would supress and even torment his lighter half with his friends...like the coma incident using the Monster World game. He was a bloodthirsty psychopath with no conscience or morals.
Now Bakura was kind, even going out of his way to watch over the blond child. He tried his best to insure Naruto was safe, even if he wasn't exactly happy. He asked permission when he was stuck inside Naruto before taking over, and never tried to use others that the boy cared about.
He was still a psychopath with questionable morals and conscience though.
Normally this would worry them, but then Bakura introduced his current girlfriend and they never brought it up again.
(Malik shuddered at the thought of a FEMALE Bakura who could summon HUGE snakes to eat people and had an obsession with Dango for some reason.)
Yes, you read that correctly. Bakura found out about Anko by accident, and when he observed the woman while still in spirit mode, he found they shared a lot of things in common. Blood, torture, sweets, ninja training, and a psychotic personality. Once he got his own body, he waited until Naruto went to sleep and went to a bar she frequented. He chatted her up, and once she realized he wasn't going to hold her old teacher against her or be freaked out by her love of messing with people, well...she became interested in him too.
He didn't hold Orochimaru against her, and she didn't give a damn if he was the Kyuubi container's brother. He even hit it off with Ibiki, and mentioned a few torture tricks he liked to pull...and was soon a part of the T & I department.
One night before leaving, he asked Anko out on a date (with Ibiki present and surprised) and the rest they say, is history.
Since he became Chunin, his main partner was Anko. She took charge during missions, and he took over for torture and interrogation. Ibiki was slightly miffed that the first new recruit in years and he was better at getting information out without once resorting to ninjutsu. The fact that Bakura had zero problems with torturing people for info was just a bonus.
Naruto had no problem with Anko, even if she did slightly creep him out at first. But once he saw her and his brother together, he realized she was just his female opposite...which is why she nearly choked when he finally started to call her Anko-nee-chan. Bakura tried and failed to hold back his laughter at the incredulous look on her face.
Still, the vacation for his old acquaintances did do something good. Ryou had been looking for a place to get away from all the bad memories, and the only two countries he was familiar with were out of the question. England was only now recovering from that Wizard war after Voldemort disappeared** (in case you are wondering, Ryou is a wizard trained at Hogwarts who finished his schooling the second Bakura left) and he had no intention of getting caught up in politics. Japan held too many memories...courtesy of Bakura.
But Konoha was perfect. Even if Bakura was here, his darker tendencies were channeled more constructively...and far from him. Here his former yami could exercise his love of bloodshed and torture...and he was encouraged to do it!
Kaiba was looking for someone to head his branch which would be constructed in the village, so Ryou brought it up when he was alone. Kaiba's eyebrows went up, but he didn't question it. Ryou would move here the minute the building was complete. Malik would be his second in command, partly to get away from his family, but mostly so he could deal with his darker half the minute he showed up again.
Two years had passed, and Naruto was about to finish the academy and go through the Genin exam. Bakura had prepared the blond for anything they could throw at him.
Naruto thought about how things had changed since Sasuke had finally given up on wanting to kill Itachi.
Now he wanted to strangle this Marik guy. Bakura had explained to the boy exactly what Marik's personality was like, and how it might have affected his brother.
"Marik...is a total nutcase. Even worse than me in some respects. The idiot once tried to control the gods for crying out loud! To make it worse, he was forcibly created through pain and sorrow, which made him highly unstable at the best of times."
"How would he affect Itachi?" asked Sasuke...who realized he said his brother's name without going into a rampage for once.
"You know that kid Malik? Marik is his dark half. Marik was a more dominant personality, and if Itachi wasn't aware he existed, he could have whispered into his mind to kill everyone. You were probably spared because Itachi still cared about you. Your family on the other hand...well let's just say they pushed him to hard. Marik may have just given Itachi the push he needed for the killing spree. I have no idea why he used that technique on you...unless Marik pushed him into it."
"And what reason would Itachi have for telling me to hate him and eventually kill him?" countered Sasuke.
"Remorse. It was his way of telling you to become stronger than him, proving your family wrong and atoning for what he did."
Sasuke tried to think that through calmly. He failed, "I can't let it go."
"Who the hell said you had to? My original village was destroyed to create seven cursed Items of power, with everyone who died melted into the gold. I sure as hell never let that go, and look at me now. Chunin in less than a year of being a Genin and pride of the T and I department."
He had a point.
"What happened to the Items?" he finally asked.
"The son of the one who killed off my village was reincarnated and finally gathered them all. He dueled with his present self, who won and the Items were finally destroyed."
At least now Sasuke had someone he could relate to...even if the dobe was his brother. Naruto got over the fact that Sasuke now joined him during training, and soon both were at the top of the class. Naruto for the practical and Sasuke for the grades. They made quite a tag team. Bakura had his own test to pass, which he did a week before the two took the Genin exam.
Bakura was now Jonin and put on the genin rouster. He made a list of Genin he wanted, Naruto and Sasuke being on top of the list. One thing that had been proven while he trained new T and I members was that he had absolutely no remorse for anyone. Naruto, Sasuke and Anko might get a little leeway, but other than that, he was strict.
He specifically requested Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke as his top choice. Close to that were Sasuke, Shino and Hinata, or Naruto, Shino and Kiba. He made it very clear if he got Sasuke he wanted no fangirls...or the bint might not survive his training.
What he got was Shino, Sasuke and Naruto...after a lot of arguing between the elders and the Hokage. Apparently they wanted Sasuke to be trained by Kakashi, the only person still in the Leaf with the Sharingan. Bakura finally came in and told the elders flat out that if and when Sasuke got the damn bloodline trait, he would take him to Kakashi to learn how to use it properly. But other than that, he would train the boys properly.
They finally allowed it...which was a good thing because Bakura was close to sending them to the Shadow Realm and damn all the consequences. (With the Hokage's current mood towards the elders and Danzo, he probably would have gotten away with it too.)
Naruto passed the exam with flying colors...and dropped jaws. Where the hell had he learned the shadow clone jutsu? Mizuki reluctantly gave him the headband, and he walked out with a very Bakura like smirk.
"Nii-san is a very good teacher."
Iruka shrugged, and since Bakura had reach Jonin rank two weeks before...it was plausible he taught the shadow clone jutsu since Naruto had zero luck with the regular.
(Either way, Mizuki was furious. The fox brat was supposed to fail, steal the scroll and take all the blame while he escaped!)
Naruto sat next to Sasuke, who nodded once. Bakura had mentioned that if they both passed he would take them out for ramen and ice cream.
Sasuke had no idea why he even got along with Bakura. The guy was sadistic like Anko, had a sweet tooth like Itachi...and could hold his liquor better than most ANBU. So why did he like Bakura enough to tolerate training with Naruto?
Which always brought him to the reason he tried to deny, no matter how true it was.
Bakura knew. He had gone down a similar road and come out at top in the end. Hell, he heard rumors that Ibiki Morino, head of the T & I was planning on making him head of the Department should anything happen to him.
But the main reason Sasuke actually liked the 5,000 year old spirit? Bakura had absolutely no pity for him after learning Itachi killed his clan and left him the lone survivor. Unlike the elders, who made his life seem like everything should be handed to the Uchiha on a golden platter.
He never realized how much he hated that until Bakura came around. He had earned his full respect.
The next week, they heard Mizuki broke into the Hokage tower and tried to steal a forbidden scroll. Bakura was the one to catch him and he had the pleasure of...questioning...the former Chunin. He came out pissed about something, and then sent his girlfriend at him.
Meanwhile, Naruto had convinced Sasuke to help him pull a prank on Iruka...who found he had far too many scrolls for his graduating teams.
"Team four is Yugi Muto, Jounouchi Wheeler, and Hiroto Honda, with Jonin sensei Seto Kaiba...what the hell?"
A few genin snickered because of the cursing.
"Team seven will be...Iruka Umino, Anko Mitarashi and Ibiki Morino, with instructor Jiraiya...okay who got into my desk?"
Several of the genin were cracking up by now.
Thirty scrolls later, including one that had the boys howling (it involved several curse words and insults) and Iruka finally found the real scrolls. Somehow he knew Naruto had done this.
"Team Seven is Naruto Uzamaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Abarame, Instructor Bakura Uzamaki."
"Team Eight is Hinata Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka, Instructor Kuranai Yuuhi."
"Team Ten is Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji, Instructor Asuma Sarutobi."
Naruto was cheering, Sasuke was pleased...Hinata and Kiba were groaning in dismay. Why the hell did they get the fangirl with almost no skills other than being a pest?
Bakura met them an hour later, and took them to the roof. He did the same lame questionnaire for the boys, who at least learned a few new things about their new sensei.
"Names, favorite things, things you hate and dreams."
"Can you start off, Bakura-sensei?" Shino asked politely.
"I go by the name Bakura, mainly because it's the only part I ever remember. Uzamaki is for the gaki who is my little brother. (Here he nodded toward Naruto, who grinned like a loon.) My favorite things are torture, blood, sweets and annoying the dumbass elders. I hate friendship speeches, idiot fangirls and guys who are way too full of themselves because of rank. I plan to rule the world...or would if I didn't loathe paperwork and have a pyromaniac side burn it whenever it crosses my path."
Sasuke and Naruto snickered.
"Shino Abarame, I like bugs, peace and quiet, and reading. I hate loud noises, spiders and bright colors. (He pointedly looks at Naruto now. Naruto took the hint and switched the jacket over.) I plan to find rare bugs to add to the clan."
Bakura snorted, "I'd like to meet a shinobi who didn't hate spiders. Aside from Iruka, but according to him it's a family summon, so he just tolerates it. There's no excuse for spiders."
Naruto, Shino and Sasuke laugh.
"Naruto Uzamaki, I like ramen, my Nii-san and Nee-chan, the color orange and small animals. I hate people who refuse to look past stereotypes and immediately judge you because of something you have no control over. I plan to become Hokage one day!"
"When you do become Hokage, watch out for the monster that preys on them."
The Genin walked right into his joke, and said "What monster?"
"Paperwork. Every Hokage has to do MOUNDS of the stuff. Most days you can't even see the desk!"
They cracked up at that.
"Sasuke Uchiha. I like gardening, fire type jutsu and sweets. I loathe fangirls and pity. I plan to find out what caused my brother to go berserk and kill everyone."
"Now that we got the boring part out of the way...Meet me at training ground ten at one tomorrow. You will have to pass the secondary test to officially become genin."
Naruto, Sasuke and Shino all went with Bakura, who lead them to Ichiraku for a congratulations dinner. And ended the night with ice cream. Shino left early and went home while the other boys chatted for a while.
Naruto had to be carried home by Bakura, who didn't give a damn. He tucked the brat in, and fell sound asleep on the couch.
He woke up at noon, saw that Naruto had left him some food for breakfast, and left.
(Interesting fact among the T and I department? Bakura could get ANYONE to talk if they woke him up before noon. Something about him scared the poor sap he questioned shitless if he didn't get to sleep in. This included Ibiki, after a memorable incident when he had the spirit come in at six in the morning. Anko had it all on tape, and kept it for blackmail material.)
They boys were waiting patiently, Naruto passing time by practicing his tarot reading. Something he picked up as a hobby thanks to Ryou showing him. He was currently reading how Shino's luck would be the next time he went into the forest for new unusual bugs.
He ended up with more info than he asked for. Ryou had offhandedly warned about that, putting all blame on the deck.
"Your luck is high, but you should wait until next week to go hunting. Also, watch out for cats...with a ribbon on their right ear."
Bakura snickered. That clinched it...they were obviously going to pass if they had to watch out for the one feline he despised more than spiders.
"That would be the Daimyo's cat. I would feel sorry for the thing...but it is a beast from the foulest pit of hell sent to torment genin just starting out."
They turned to him, and he held out two bells.
"The secondary test starts in ten minutes. Your job is to either claim a bell or land a proper hit on me. If you don't...you get tied to a log. I will be using genjutsu at random. Your best bet is to come at me like I pranked you or pissed you off."
He put a clock on the middle log, and gave them a look. They all vanished in a blur. But not before Naruto snickered at the clock...he recognized that thing pretty quick, and had an idea what Bakura planned to do to it.
An hour and one kunai into the cursed alarm clock later...
Sasuke and Shino had landed a bell each, while Naruto had scored a right hook on his brother. Bakura knew it would bruise in the morning, and didn't care.
He grinned, and said "Pass. We begin the hell that is D rank missions tomorrow. I will not force you to chase that damn cat, but I will make you do the other boring missions."
Twelve boring ass D ranks later...
They were ready to seriously kill a certain cat. Bakura had warned them it was a beast from the deepest pit of hell, but they didn't know he was serious! At least after he gave them permission to terrorise the damn thing before they brought it in. (Bakura- We can't kill the damn thing Naruto... (Naruto droops) But they said nothing about tormenting it mentally. Anything short of maiming I will...ignore. All three genin cheer, and the cat realized it was doomed.)
At least he made the chores interesting. Weeding the garden usually involved him describing plants, and what they could be used for. He tested them on their memory once they were done. Painting was done after they learned how to tree climb, and with weighted feet. Walking the Inuzuka dogs involved a rather interesting game called ninja biscuit throw. Which involved the genin throwing dog biscuits like shuriken and cleaning up the mess the dogs made when they relieved themselves.
(I actually do this, and call it Ninja Bread. Take a stale piece of bread, whole, and throw it outside into the yard like a frisbee. Loads of fun!)
They were a very good team, unlike team eight. Bakura had seen Kuranai training Hinata and Kiba, with Haruno lagging behind. That girl was pulling the entire team down!
Bakura remembered the rumor about the Legendary Sucker being in a town nearby...and laid a subtle hint to Kuranai about contacting her.
It was during the genin switch (jonin instructors switched once a week for two days. It was Bakura's idea, and it seemed to be working) that Bakura heard the news.
"Wait, you mean the kids can take a C rank after ten D's?"
Asuma looked surprised.
"You didn't know?"
Bakura groaned, "The boys are going to kill me if they find out. We've done over twenty! And a third of them was catching that bloody cat!"
Kuranai looked at him, curious.
"How on earth did you find a way to improve your time catching that bloody feline anyway?"
Bakura gave her an evil grin.
"I told my Genin that anything short of death or maiming was allowed if they caught it. If that cat hadn't scratched the hell out of me the last time I had to catch it, I might have gone easier."
They stared at him. He stared right back.
"You're...actually serious about that."
"Yup. I normally respect cats, because of my old culture, but that damn thing is a fiend from the deepest pits of hell sent to torment Genin!"
They wisely dropped the subject...and then told the genin they could torment the cat if caught. Which lead to a new game in Konoha called "Torment the Daimyo's cat without maiming or killing it." Needless to say the requests to capture the thing plummeted.
AN** Ryou left England a little before Voldemort went after the Potters. He had accidently heard the prophecy and decided it was best to leave before he was dragged into the war which would come. Currently Harry Potter is two years younger than Naruto in this story.