Author's Note:
It's been a really long time and there is nothing to blame other than my own idiocy. I ended up leaving my laptop at my cousin's house and was unable to retrieve it until just recently. I apologize for the long delay, but if its some sort of conciliation I finished the first arc of this story while waiting to retrieve my laptop and have been in the planning stage for the next arc.
Once again I apologize, please forgive me :/.
Here's the next chapter, sorry for the wait.
Worth Protecting
Chapter 5: So It Begins...
'How should I go about training to get stronger?' Naruto mused seriously as he took his time strolling back to his home. It would still be another good couple hours before Naruto and Yugito had to go to the academy, so that gave him plenty of time to build on his thoughts.
It was becoming painfully obvious to Naruto at this point that all the self-training he had been doing was a complete waste of his time. No matter how hard Naruto tried, his progress was minimal at best. Maybe it was just his approach to his training that made his efforts fruitless?
Naruto was already three months into his third year at the academy and the concepts that most others grasped in one year he had not even done so till this very day. Three years and three months, that was how long it took for Naruto to perfectly use the Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Technique). Naruto was ninjutsu-oriented, but yet could barely grasp an academy level technique.
The Kawarimi no Jutsu(Body Replacement Technique) had come a little bit more easier for Naruto as he was able to manage it by the end of his first year. As for the Bunshin no Jutsu(Clone Technique), Naruto had made no progress at all, causing him to create failed images of himself.
Naruto's skill in shinobi tools, no matter how many times her practiced with them, could not manage to hit a target a far distance away with much accuracy. Naruto could hit a couple of them in the center, but the rest of them would either completely miss or hit the outer circle.
As for taijutsu, despite having learned the standard academy style for three whole years, Naruto was still the 'dead-last' of his class again despite them being their for only three months, although this was mostly due to the fact that they did a lot of training at home as well.
Naruto was also lacking in most basic shinobi knowledge to the point where he was considered a moron, but that wasn't completely right. Naruto was highly intellectual in his own way and showed a high level of skill when it came to the most important shinobi art: deception. Although this was overlooked since Naruto only used this aptitude in his daily pranks.
All in all, Naruto didn't have much skill for becoming a shinobi, but despite it all, he still dreamed of one day being the Hokage. Naruto had an unstoppable will and determination and always worked extremely hard for what he had achieved so far. It was those qualities that would allow him to become stronger. The only thing missing now was for Naruto to find an improved way of gaining strength.
Looking back at everybody in his class, most of them were part of an important clan. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chōji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame and Sasuke Uchiha. Each of them had their own clan which possessed their own secret techniques which engraved the path they would follow to get stronger.
Naruto, and now Yugito, would both need to create their own paths to becoming stronger shinobi. Naruto knew that even if he managed to find his way, it would be a tough road paved with blood, sweat and tears. Naruto wasn't a genius like some certain individuals, but with enough hard work, even the 'dead-last' could surpass the prodigy.
Naruto was abruptly ripped from his thoughts by an exuberant yell, "Yes, Lee! Let the flames of youth burn bright! Onward, my student!" Naruto's face contorted into one of comical disbelief and confusion as he watched two people rush right past him at a lightning pace, but what was shocking was that they were running on their hands.
The older one was a man clad in green spandex with orange leg warmers and wore the Konohagakure flack jacket that most shinobi over the rank of chūnin wore. His Konohagakure forehead protector was worn as belt around his waist. The man had high cheekbones, ridiculously thick eyebrows and black hair cut in a bowl-style.
The younger one was dressed in a martial arts robe and belt with black pants and wore the Konoha forehead protector on his forehead. The young teen had the same thick eyebrows as the older one, rounded eyes and prominent lower eyelashes while his black hair was short and curved upwards in the back.
"Yosh, Gai-sensei!" the boy called Lee enthusiastically responded as he followed his role model, picking up speed as they became smaller and smaller in the distance.
'Is that some type of training?' Naruto mused with interest on his face as jumped into a handstand and took a few steps in that position. Naruto's interest reached an all time high as he realized that it was somewhat difficult to do. Looking back in the direction of the pupil and his master, Naruto was astounded to see that they were nearly disappearing from view.
'If they can move that fast while walking on their hands, they must be pretty strong. Maybe they can teach me too!' Naruto thought, forming a goal in his mind as he began chasing after the two of them on his hands. It seemed like the road to becoming stronger finally showed itself to the blond boy and he was more than happy to get on that road striding.
Naruto was well aware that running on your hands didn't necessarily mean somebody was strong, but something told him that eccentric 'Gai' would be able to make him strong. If Naruto turned out to be wrong and this road to becoming stronger was a total bust, he would just leave. On the other hand, if it turned out to be worth while, than it means he had hit the jackpot!
This road Naruto was on, both literally and figuratively, were being paved with sweat as Naruto was finding it more and more strenuous to follow the black-haired duo. However, this only made Naruto more enthusiastic and impatient about the thought of actually being training by them.
Naruto may have possibly been able to reach Lee and Gai if he hadn't given them such a head start and it might have been faster for Naruto to chase them on his legs, but what kind of impression would that make on his new teacher if he took the easy way out. Naruto would just have to hold up until the student and teacher decided to stop.
It was only after a good half hour before they finally jumped off their hands and back onto their feet. Their destination had apparently been the Konohagakure Training Ground as the taijutsu master and his pupil got ready to dash off into the forest to his and Lee's particular training area. "Yosh. Let's push on to continue your training, Lee!" Gai spoke in his loud tone of voice, pumping up his student before he realized that he was actually being ignored.
"What's wrong, Lee?" Gai inquired worriedly, finding it strange that his pupil had stopped in place with his head turned away from his beloved teacher. Lee was always enthusiastic when it came to training and followed Gai without a second's hesitation, so Lee's behavior was bizarre.
In response to Gai's inquiry, Lee rose his hand and pointed in the direction that they had just come from. Lee spoke both firmly and respectfully, "My apologies, Gai-sensei. I was momentarily distracted by the person following us." Gai, hearing Lee's reply, mirrored his pupil's gaze to see an orange jumpsuit wearing boy walking towards them on his hands.
Gai, being one of the Konoha's best jōnin, immediately recognized the boy following them and was genuinely interested in what he was planning. Lee, meanwhile, remained respectfully quiet as he wondered if this newcomer knew his jōnin-leader somehow.
Upon reaching the Green Beast of Konoha, Naruto got to his feet before startling Guy with a completely uncharacteristic bow. Naruto didn't particularly think of himself in high regards, but Naruto still didn't bow to just anyone, even if they were of higher status. So for Naruto to actually bow before someone else meant a whole lot, something Gai would come to realize later on.
Naruto had not planned out what he was going to say to his potential teacher, but something was telling him that this man would make him stronger. "I'm sorry for tailing you like this, but I was hoping that you would allow me to join your training," Naruto sincerely asked of the taijutsu master while keeping his head bowed low.
The fact that Naruto was looking straight down at the ground caused him to miss the amazed expressions etched on the face of not only Gai, but Lee as well. Their training had been considered insane and inhuman by a number of people, so to have somebody beg to join was something completely unheard of.
Naruto mistook the silence that had come over the three for Gai thinking about deny him. Naruto clenched his fists as he continued his pleading, this time speaking straight from the heart, "As I am now... I'm not strong enough to meet any of my goals... So please! Don't refuse me!"
Gai had been hesitant at first to take Naruto as his disciple due to his particular status, but after hearing Naruto's heartfelt words, Gai let a warm smile appear on his face. Naruto's desire to become stronger reminded Gai of his pupil, Lee and of himself when he had been young like them. How could Gai refuse Naruto now when he had already taken a liking to him?
Gai lightly placed a hand on Naruto's head, guiding the blond boy to look up. Gai gave Naruto a thumbs up and a bright smile, so white that it gave off a proverbial 'ping'. "I could never refuse a boy so full of youth!" Gai assured him in his own eccentric way, causing a large grin to appear on Naruto's face.
Gai was the leader of a genin team, so he had to put his students first of course, but Naruto stated that he wanted to join in Lee's training. If all Naruto wanted was to join Lee's training, than Naruto wouldn't necessarily take Gai's time away from his other genin. If anything, Naruto would help Lee improve since it always helped to have a training partner.
"From this day forward, you two will be rivals in taijutsu!" Gai decided on his own without consulting either of his pupils, leaving Naruto a little confused while Lee was already on board with his teacher. Lee already had a rival of his own, but didn't see anything wrong with having another. Naruto also had his own rival, but was also more than willing to accept Lee as another one.
"Don't be discouraged just because Lee has had a three month head start! With enough hard work and determination, you'll catch up in no time!" Gai encouraged his new student who nodded his head in understanding. Gai may have been eccentric, but that only seemed to spice up the way he raised his students.
Naruto was now even more sure that he had picked the right person to train him. Both Gai and Lee held hard work and determination in high regards much like Naruto did. It was only natural that three would hit it off so soon, which was only helped along by Lee's polite and accepting nature.
"Now then! Onward to begin your training!" Gai eagerly spoke as he began revving himself up as well as his two students before they all dashed into the forest.
"Yes, Gai-sensei!" both Naruto and Lee said in unison with a smile on their faces, following their teacher excitedly.
Yugito drowsily opened her eyes as her internal alarm clock rang, waking her up for the start of a new day. Sitting up in Naruto's bed, she sleepily rubbed at her eyes as she threw the covers off her body. After throwing her feet of the side of the bed, she slowly stood up with her eyes still half-closed. Feeling her way to the bathroom more than seeing it, Yugito walked into the lavatory before moving towards the sink.
Yugito turned on the faucet, cupping her hands on the streaming water as she bent her head down. Yugito repeatedly began splashing her face with the cool tap till she felt fully awake before finally turning the water off and drying her face with a nearby towel. Looking at the mirror above the sink, Yugito noticed the fact that she was still wearing the torn clothes from last night.
Stepping out of the bathroom with the thought of a fresh change of clothing, Yugito went to go to the bags where her clothes were located, but stopped midway as her eyes fell on the futon that Naruto had been sleeping on. The futon was empty and littered with small blood stains due to the fact that Naruto had been covered in it when he had gone to sleep.
The blood stains got Yugito a little worried, but remembered the Naruto had no wounds when she had looked for them. She was still tempted to worry since he was already gone, but decided to have some faith in him. Naruto must have had something to do in the morning and had gotten an earlier start so that he could still make it to the academy on time.
Deciding to leave Naruto be, Yugito continued to grab the couple of shopping bags from where she had left them before moving into the bedroom again. Rummaging through the bags for a moment, Yugito removed a fresh pair of what she had worn yesterday before quickly removing her tattered shirt from yesterday as well as her shinobi pants.
Yugito quickly put on the black shinobi pants and black t-shirt as she zipped up the sleeveless light purple over-shirt. The blonde placed the previously worn shinobi pants back in the bag before taking the torn shirt from last night and throwing it in the trash can.
Soon after disposing of the ripped article of clothing, Yugito felt a deep rumble in her stomach. Going over to the fridge, hoping to find something to eat for breakfast, Yugito was left disappointed as the shelves were completely barren. Taking a closer inspection, there was one thing inside the fridge: a carton of milk.
Milk just happened to be Yugito's favorite beverage so she happily grabbed it and closed the fridge. Yugito was completely satisfied with just this as her breakfast, but after opening the carton and giving it a whiff to see if it was fresh, Yugito's happiness was shattered. Yugito bowed her head in defeat as she threw away the spoiled milk, seeing as she was stuck with no breakfast.
'I wonder where Naruto went? I thought he was going to take me to the academy today,' Yugito wondered to herself, but sighed as Naruto must have had something important to take care of. The way Naruto had been so excited about it yesterday showed that he had no intention of missing her first day.
With that last thought, Yugito opened the door and locked it from the inside before closing it behind her when she exited. She would be coming back with Naruto most likely, so even if she didn't have the key it was best to lock the door. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, Yugito nodded her head as she walked in the direction of the academy which Naruto had kindly showed her a couple days ago.
Lee's special training area wasn't something all too special, but it contained everything that was needed. The training area was a small clearing in the middle of forest with a dirt ground as opposed to it being covered in grass. Thick trees encircled the small clearing which would be used in the training and two small, half-buried boulders were located in the center where breaks would be taken. Behind the boulders was a small first aid pouch full of things like rubbing alcohol and gauze to dress small wounds.
For the first hour, Gai sat down with Naruto to explain a few basic things to him that had to do with the training that Naruto had decided to join in. Naruto was informed of the fact that Gai and Lee were taijutsu specialists and used a taijutsu form dubbed as "Strong Fist". It was a taijutsu form that centered around using powerful blows to deal tremendous amounts of external damage.
Of course, in order to reap the benefits of this form, one must build a physique that was capable of delivering ridiculous amounts of force while also sustaining it for long periods of time. That was where the training that Gai had originally planned for Lee came in handy. Gai's specially customized physical training would allow them to build both muscular endurance and muscular power while also putting on some muscular mass and increasing the body's overall durability.
Although, that was only the first part of the days training while the later half would solely be focused on hand-to-hand combat. Both Naruto and Lee would learn the ways of the Strong Fist while also increasing their reaction speed and variety of fighting combinations. As the taijutsu training continued, Naruto and Lee would also be training their minds to recognize 'weak points' in an opponent's guard and anticipate an opponent's moves among other things.
Once Naruto and Lee's training got to a certain point, Gai would begin teaching them powerful taijutsu moves, special techniques to enhance their taijutsu while also putting them through special training to hone their 'mind's eye'. As one could see, Gai's training was packed tight and would no doubt bring out the potential in both his pupils.
Right before Gai began Naruto and Lee's training for the day, Gai gave Naruto the option of having his training placed at the beginner's level since Naruto may not be able to handle what Lee was currently doing. Naruto vehemently refused to take what he considered 'special treatment' causing Gai to nod his head in approval, praising Naruto's youth.
In real time, Gai and Lee both looked on with visible shock and awe on their faces, completely taken aback by what they had just seen. Naruto had done the impossible for a beginner and completed the first section of training which involved hitting a tree five thousand times with each fist, five thousand times with each foot, five thousand times with each elbow and five thousand times with each knee. Neither Gai nor Lee had expected Naruto to go to the end, but to actually see it happen left them in admiration of the amount of spirit Naruto had shown.
Naruto had long since removed his orange jacket and had rolled up his orange pants above his knees in preparation for the ancient training called 'Tree Hitting'. Upon completion, Naruto was bleeding profusely from his fists, feet, knees and elbows which ran down, forming lines of blood down his arms and legs. Having lost a lot of his strength, Naruto fell to his knees before falling forward causing his head to hit the tree.
The impact drew blood that fell from the small scratch on his forehead and down his face, but Naruto wasn't down yet as he sunk his nails into the tree bark to keep from going down any further. Naruto wasn't out of steam yet, but his body was aching.
"Let's take a small break, Naruto," Gai offered, inwardly praising the boy for his fierce determination, but he was also worried about the blond's well-being. No matter how you looked at it, overexertion was never a good thing.
Hearing Gai's words, Naruto gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself to his feet, astonishing Gai. Lee went over and placed a hand on Naruto in order to assist him, but was waved off by Naruto, who spoke in a strained voice, "Not yet... I'm not done yet!"
Seeing Naruto's determination and resolve left Gai recalling a time in Lee's training when this exact same thing happened, albeit under less circumstances. Naruto and Lee were much the same and the latter had already realized this, gaining a deep respect for the blond boy causing him to refuse to hurt Naruto's pride by helping him any further as he stepped back away from him.
"I have somebody precious to me that I have to keep safe and something to prove to everyone in this village. Until I can do that, there are no time for breaks!" Naruto asserted with a calm, cool tone of voice, a serious expression on his face and resolution burning in his eyes as he ignored his bloodied body's pleads to rest.
Naruto had always been considered the most uncool student in the entire academy... if only they could see him now.
Yugito had exited the main office after learning her classroom number and was given a note to deliver to her teacher. Yugito was now in front of the door to her classroom feeling a little nervous about starting her day. Looking through the glass panel in the door, Yugito was able to see a number of kids sitting at their desk in threes while also being able to see her knew new instructor who was currently lecturing his students.
The teacher was a man of average height and build with black hair that he kept in a ponytail, dark eyes and a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals and flack jacket. His sleeves were rolled up about a quarter of the way and he looked like relatively good guy judging by the smile on his face as he instructed his students.
Yugito steeled herself before knocking at the door three times, seeing through the glass panel that she got the teacher's attention as he went to open the door. "Hello there. Are you a new student by any chance?" the brown-haired man asked upon opening the door with a smile. Yugito nodded her head as she delivered the message she had been given. The instructor scanned the paper, getting the basics before folding it and looking back at her.
"My name is Iruka Umino and I guess I'll be your teacher for the rest of the year. Please come in," the black-haired man introduced himself before ushering her into the classroom. As soon as she entered, Yugito instantaneously felt a sea of eyes fall on her while quiet murmurs swept over the class at the sight of the new girl.
Yugito was too nervous to try and figure out what everybody was whispering, but although she didn't know it, the remarks seemed to be in the positive direction. Among some of the males were comments of how 'hot' she looked while the girl's thought that she looked really pretty or beautiful.
"Alright, listen up everyone. It seems that you guys will be getting a new classmate, so treat her well," Iruka explained, signaling for Yugito to introduce herself to the entire class who were now silent after Iruka had spoken.
Yugito clasped her hands behind her and spoke with a cute smile, "My name is Yugito Nii. Please take care of me." Another positive response swept across the room giving Yugito a little more hope for the rest of the day. Looking back over to Iruka to find out where she would be seated, Iruka cupped his chin and looked the room over.
"Alright than Yugito. Please take the seat next to Sasuke Uchiha over there," Iruka told her, pointing to a boy that was sitting alone with two empty seats next to him. At the time, he wasn't paying much attention to the class and was looking out the window.
Sasuke was a fair-skinned ninja who had onyx eyes and black chin-length hair. His hair was spiky in the back with bangs that framed his head. His clothing consisted of the traditional Uchiha attire: a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and the Uchiha crest on the back along with white shorts and white arm warmers.
Yugito slowly walked up to her seat, passing the first one at the end which probably was Naruto's and sitting in the center. Yugito suddenly felt like cold daggers were stabbing into her from the gazes of almost every female in the room. Was this Sasuke Uchiha somebody that popular among the girls here?
Looking to her left at the raven-haired boy, Yugito felt a rather cold, indifferent and arrogant air around the Uchiha that felt like the complete opposite of what she got from Naruto. Yugito wondered if it might be better to ignore him, but she knew that it would be rude and leave a bad first impression.
"Hello," Yugito simply greeted her classmate who had his fingers intertwined and placed under his nose, covering his mouth from view. Sasuke heard her and slowly turned his head, acknowledging her presence, offering her a 'Hi' in response before looking forward once again. It had only been briefly but Yugito got the feeling that Sasuke saw her as below him. Yugito had not gotten the best first impression of Sasuke Uchiha, wondering if this guy was really that popular?
Iruka called all attention to return back to him allowing Yugito to be free of the piercing stares from the female of the classroom. Yugito gave one last look to the empty seat next to her, pondering where Naruto had gone for a moment before she brought her attention back to Iruka who went over the basic rules that all shinobi were expected to follow.
The lectures continued on and on, going through the basic necessities such as things like reading, mathematics, science, geography and basic shinobi knowledge. Even Yugito was beginning to find it tiring while a lot of the class was already zoning out or doing other things. The class wasn't learning anything relatively new, but were merely reviewing things that everybody knew as common everyday knowledge.
The only relief for the students came in the form of a bell ringing causing everybody to rise from their seats. Yugito mimicked the rest of her class, not really knowing much of what was going on as Iruka called everyone's attention in order to form two lines of boys and girls. The students obeyed the command as they were escorted out of the classroom, down the hallways and out the backdoor of the academy where there stood a miniature training ground to be used by the academy students.
"Alright class. It's the first day of the week so that means we will be reevaluating each of your skills. To begin, like we usually do, traditional shinobi sparring," Iruka informed his class, a clipboard in hand with the roster of the class. Scanning through the names a few times, Iruka formulated the multiple bouts that would be taking place.
Calling out the first two names of the first sparring match, the two academy students stepped forward, away from the rest of the class as they faced each other. The rest of the students took a few steps back to give the two combatants enough free space. Yugito had her eyes firmly planted on the match, wondering if she would see what academy level training was like in Konohagakure.
Back in Kumogakure, being the niece of the Raikage among other things, Yugito was given training at a relatively young age. Yugito was trained in taijutsu, ninjutsu, shinobi tools and chakra control, but the months she had spent on the road had left her rusty. Those who didn't discipline themselves at a regular basis were bound to get worse and worse.
Since leaving Kumo, her taijutsu had become unfamiliar to her, her chakra control had slipped, her speed had dwindled and her accuracy with shinobi tools were probably a little off. Yugito wasn't completely sure, but if she had been at one hundred percent last night then maybe she and Naruto would have been able to safely get away, maybe even beat them.
From what she had seen, Naruto managed to get a couple good hits and if it had been one on one, he may have actually won. Three on two weren't very good odds, but the thought of might having been able to win was a pleasant one. Deciding to ignore it since it was all on the past, Yugito focused on the testing in front of her.
The two academy students put up the basic Seal of Confrontation as Iruka called, "Begin!" The two contestants went through a little squabble as they showcased their menial skills. Once a clean and decisive blow was landed, Iruka would call the end of the fight and the two combatants would form the Seal of Reconciliation.
The Seal of Confrontation was used to show the opponent in front of you that you acknowledged them and were going to challenge them while the Seal of Reconciliation represented that the two shinobi were still friends at the end of the match. It was an easy concept with a nice meaning behind it and even though it was used in the academy, every shinobi of any rank used this to hone their skills against shinobi of equal or high skill.
Yugito viewed another couple battles to feel slightly disappointed since what was being utilized was rather generic and didn't show any sign of form. The two fights she thought were any interesting were the two where no fighting actually happened. Two boys named Shikamaru Nara and Chōji Akimichi both had refused to fight their opponents which ended up making their opponents face each other.
Both of the students were given the same lecture by Iruka about how laziness would be the downfall of a shinobi before letting them off. By the look of defeat on the teacher, it was obvious that the two were repeat offenders and no matter what he said wouldn't change them.
Shikamaru Nara had fairly long jet black hair tied in a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes, and had both ears adorned by earrings. His attire was rather plain, consisting of a green lined mesh T-shirt under a short sleeved gray jacket with green edges, adorned on both the sleeves and the back with a circle with a line through it, brown pants, and blue sandals.
Chōji Akimichi had spiky, brown hair, swirl marks on his cheeks, and a much more robust physique than most other ninja. Chōji wore brown shorts, a long white scarf, a short-sleeved green jacket over a white shirt with his clan's kanji for "food" on it, small, hoop earrings, and his legs and forearms were wrapped in bandages.
Since the basic genin team was made up of two boys and one girl, it was obvious that the class would be male dominant, but Yugito felt a little dismayed at how poor almost every female seemed at taijutsu compared to some of the males. Ino Yamanaka was the best one Yugito had seen so far, but that really, really wasn't saying much.
Ino Yamanaka was a fair-skinned girl of average height with green eyes and long, blonde hair, which was kept in a high-ponytail with bangs covering the right side of her face. Ino wore a pair of small silver hoop-earrings and a short purple vest like blouse with a raised collar, a skirt that was cut off on the sides and bandages on her stomach and legs. To complete her attire, Ino also wore purple and white elbow warmers with this.
"Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked loudly to her love interest, waving in large arcs so quickly that most the class expected her to take off. Sasuke had a comical sweatdrop on the back of his head as he did his best to ignore the leader of the 'Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club'. Yugito sweatdropped as well at the scene, actually feeling a little bad for the guy.
"Alright, that's enough," Iruka began, waving Ino off of the sparring field before he continued with the next match, "The next match will be between Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka." This got Sasuke's attention as he walked onto the sparring field followed by his opponent.
Kiba Inuzuka had messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, pronounced canine teeth, and nails that he can change into claws. He also has the distinct red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks. Kiba's attire consisted of dark greyish pants reaching to his calves and a gray, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood usually placed on his head, over an apparent plate of armor and a fishnet undershirt. To complete his wild features, Kiba even had a little white dog on the top of his head.
"Since your at the top of the class, when I beat you. Would that make me the best?" Kiba remarked with a dog-like smile as he made the Seal of Confrontation. Hearing Kiba saying 'when' instead of 'if', Sasuke replied with a short 'bah' before forming the Seal of Confrontation as well.
The fight was over almost instantaneously as Yugito got a clear idea of why Sasuke was at the top of the class. Kiba had charged Sasuke aggressively right off the bat which left him taking a kick to the chest, knocking him back. Kiba ignored the kick completely, having not even fallen to the ground, but it was already over by Iruka's call.
"Don't think this means anything, Uchiha," Kiba spoke bitterly as he grudgingly made the Seal of Reconciliation with Sasuke who didn't look too happy with it either. Once again, Ino began cheering her congratulations for Sasuke's win, but the Uchiha once again did his best to ignore her.
"Alright then. To end today, let's have Yugito Nii go up against Hinata Hyūga," Iruka decided, Yugito nodding her head as she smiled thinking that it was finally her turn. Turning to face her opponent, Yugito saw a girl that looked rather shy and pacifistic. Was this girl really going to fight her?
Hinata Hyūga had fair skin, white eyes and dark blue hair that she kept in a short, leveled hime-cut style just above her forehead, with chin-length strands framing her face. She wore a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants.
"Due to Hinata's fighting style, a palm strike to the chest will be considered a clean hit," Iruka informed Yugito who nodded in understanding, seeing Hinata timidly adopt a pose that would make the most of a palm strike. Yugito still wasn't sure if such a shy girl would actually end up fighting, but made the Seal of Confrontation anyways, having it mirrored by Hinata.
"Begin!" Iruka called the beginning of the last match as Hinata went, going for Yugito's torso as Yugito brushed them away. Yugito could see that Hinata had great skill and hidden potential in her fighting style, but it seemed that her shy nature was keeping her from flourishing.
Having been distracted in her thoughts, Yugito pushed Hinata's left palm strike up by the forearm, letting a glancing blow pass of her shoulder. Moving her body right, using the momentum of her earlier deflection, Yugito spun her body, going for a kick to Hinata's head. Hinata fearfully closed her eyes as she awaited impact.
"Winner! Yugito Nii!" Iruka called as Hinata opened her eyes to see Yugito's heel stopped just an inch away from hitting her in jaw. Lowering her foot, Yugito walked up to Hinata and with a friendly smile made the Seal of Reconciliation with the Hyūga girl. Hinata found Yugito's warmness familiar to somebody else she knew and gave her a pleasant smile back.
"Alright class. Let's move onto the target practice," Iruka ordered his students as he looked back down at his clipboard with pen in hand as the students all moved on to the next area. Iruka was pleasantly surprised by Yugito's taijutsu prowess and agility while admiring her sportsmanship, taking a note of that on the class roster.
Moving onto the throwing range, Iruka lined up his class in order by last name as they each took turns in throwing a set of kunai and shuriken at a target placed a considerable distance away. One after one, the students through their assortment of shinobi tools before moving away for the next person to get a chance. Iruka took the liberty of removing the kunai and shuriken from the target after each student.
Once again, Shikamaru and Chōji decided to sit out the target practice which Yugito found rather interesting. Was it that they were just too lazy to put in the effort, or were they too bored by the exercise to even bother doing it? Probably a combination of the two, but Yugito didn't really think any less of them because of it. They were the type of person to come through where it counted; They were much like Naruto in that respect.
When it was Yugito's turn, she picked up the set of shinobi tools and looked at the target in the distance. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Yugito took a firm grip before throwing them at the target. Most of them hit the dead center while a few stray ones hit a little bit off. Yugito looked at the kunai and shuriken that were off, seeing that her aim had indeed slipped a bit. However, Yugito's abilities was still at the top of girl's in the class and among the top in the males.
After a few more students got their chance, it was finally Sasuke's turn. The Uchiha took a rather wide footed stance before launching the kunai and shuriken at the target, having every single one of them hit dead center. Yugito looked on slightly impressed, seeing Sasuke to be the most adept of all the academy students and probably stronger than her at the moment.
Much to Yugito's amusement, and Sasuke's chagrin, all of the Uchiha fan girls let a dreamy 'Sasuke' escape them. Sasuke was followed by a few more academy students who got their chance to have their skills evaluated before Iruka called attention.
"Okay, class. Move on to the recess area and rest before I come retrieve you later," Iruka issued his order to his students who nodded their heads before setting off to their destination. Yugito wasn't sure where this place was exactly so she followed the rest of her classmates. Hopefully Naruto would manage to get there during the last half of school.
Night had long fallen as Naruto painfully heaved his foot step after step up the stairs to his apartment door. He had just barely managed to get through training with Gai and Lee and it took all the willpower he had not to pass out at the training ground. They had closed off the day with some sparring between Naruto and Lee where the blond got a brutal taste of what a taijutsu specialist was capable of, even if he was a beginner. This made Naruto wonder what Gai as a taijutsu master was capable of.
Naruto's mind had been focused on training for the entire day, and now that it was over, the only thought in his head was to get home and get some rest. Naruto had already decided that he would repeat what he did today tomorrow as well. Lee and Gai apparently got extremely early starts to their day, every single day. It pained Naruto to hear that, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
Naruto fell forward as he reached the top of the steps, crawling the rest of the way to his door. A feeling of accomplishment came over him as he passed the seemingly impossible climb. Once he reached the door, Naruto sorely went into his pocket, retrieved his keys and unlocked his door, slipping inside.
The room was pitch black as he stumbled to his futon in the dark. Just as he was about to lie down with the only thought in his head being blissful sleep, the lights flew on. Although Naruto didn't know why exactly, the word 'busted' appeared in his mind. Squinting under the bright light, Naruto looked to the side to see Yugito with an indeterminable expression on her face.
"What's up?" Naruto groaned out as he plummeted to his futon, burying his face into his pillow. Yugito's expression remained impassive as she watched Naruto who slowly looked up when all he heard as a response was silence.
"'What's up?' Nothing really. I just got through my first day of the academy," Yugito answered in a monotone voice as Naruto's mood instantly dropped even more than it already had. It had only taken him a moment to process what she meant and the fact that Yugito refused to show any emotion on the topic made this so much worse. For once, Naruto wanted to hear anger, not this deadly calmness.
'Shit!' Naruto shouted repeatedly to himself upon realizing that he had royally screwed up. Yugito and even Naruto, had been so excited to spend Yugito's first day at the academy together and try to get her settled in, but he had forgotten. Although Naruto had done what he did for Yugito's sake as well, Naruto still felt horrible about leaving her.
"I'm sorry, Yugito! I really am! I can't believe I forgot!" Naruto tried to apologize quickly, but his voice only came out a few levels higher than a whisper since he was completely exhausted.
"It's no big deal. It's not like you promised you'd be there. I was just wondering where you've been all this time? You look completely wiped out!" Yugito commented with an interested expression without a hint of a worrying tone since she was still a little mad at Naruto. But it was true, Naruto had never made a promise that he would be there. His promise was for something a little different.
Meanwhile, Naruto was glad that his orange jacket and pants covered all the wounds on his arms and legs and the bandages that could be seen were easily passed off as basic shinobi wear. It was also fortunate for Naruto that he wasn't one to bruise easily from the hits he had taken to the head and face in his spar with Lee. Naruto didn't want to tell Yugito about his new training regime yet as it would cause some unsatisfactory issues.
"Jii-chan had me run some errands for him. Said something about saving the older shinobi for more important matters," Naruto lied smoothly, Yugito finding Naruto's excuse believable considering that Naruto was close with the Hokage and that situation was completely in the realm of the possible.
"Must of been a little more than just 'some'," Yugito commented as Naruto scratched the back of his head, letting off a tired chuckle as he felt his exhaustion grow with every second he spent on his futon without sleep. Looking back down at his bed in the new light, Naruto noticed that it was clean of any blood stains, something he found surprising, but realized Yugito must of done it with all the free time she had.
"Enough about me. How was your first day? Any troubles?" Naruto asked her, removing the attention away from what he had been doing that day to what she had been doing the entire day. Yugito seemed to perk up a little after hearing that as she pulled up a chair and sat down. Naruto realized instantaneously that this was going to be a long story and kind of regretted it, but the least he could do was listen after blowing her off.
"The really interesting part was during lunch..."
The recess area was a small circular enclosed space with a series of trees dotting the landscape where the academy students sat down to eat their lunches and mingle till they were called back by their teacher. Yugito was sitting under a tree with her knees up against her chest. It wasn't that she was shy, scared or sad; she was just really, really hungry!
'Never will I ever leave without eating breakfast again,' Yugito thought to herself, blushing as a growl emanated from her stomach. A growling stomach was not becoming of a lady, but Yugito could hardly care less about what people thought of her.
"Mind some company," a male voice sounded from in front of her as she looked up to see the lazed expression of Shikamaru and Choji eating a bag of potato chips with a happy smile on his face.
"Uh, sure. Not at all," Yugito responded, not really understanding why they would approach her since they had never spoken a single word to each other until just now.
"Since you're the new girl, Choji and I thought that you might want somebody to talk to," Shikamaru informed the blond girl as he laid down on a patch of grass next to her, looking up at the clouds. Choji too a seat against the same tree as Yugito, continuing to eat away at the extra large bag, nodding in agreement.
In all honesty, Shikamaru had been mulling the idea of even greeting her for a while since it seemed like a lot of needless work. In the end, he had ultimately decided to do it since he would still be able to watch the clouds anyways. Choji had also encouraged him to meet her, so that helped him along as well.
"That's really nice of you. I was actually planning to have somebody keep me company today, but he hasn't arrived yet," Yugito remarked with a small frown on her face as she had already made peace with the idea that he wouldn't be coming at all.
"Does he go to the academy?" Choji inquired as he continued munching his favorite brand of barbeque potato chips, Shikamaru absently listening as his mind was still focusing up at the fluffy white clouds in the blue sky.
"Yeah, he's actually in this class," Yugito said in response to Chōji's question, his eyes widening slightly while Shikamaru sat up abruptly with an expression of interest and surprise.
"But the only person not here today... You don't mean a guy named Naruto, right?" Shikamaru wondered, not believing that Naruto had met a girl that didn't hate him yet. Naruto had made Sasuke his rival, and in turn, made almost every girl into his enemy.
"That's exactly his name. You know him?" Yugito asked with a voice of curiosity, having gotten the idea that Naruto was rather lonely and didn't have many friends, if any at all his own age.
"Do I know him? He, Choji, Kiba and I have been friends since day one!" Shikamaru explained with rare enthusiasm at the topic of their group, sadly named 'Dead Lasts'. Of course, by 'day one', Shikamaru meant of this year of the academy. It had only taken a few words exchanged at the beginning of the year for the four to find common ground, one of which was causing trouble for Iruka.
Having found something interesting to talk about, Shikamaru and Choji began telling Yugito stories about their infamy in the academy. Telling her of all the crazy pranks that they pulled, most of which were Naruto's ideas and how they usually got the same lecture from Iruka at the end of the day.
Yugito found the conversation informative as well as entertaining as the only time she had ever heard of Naruto pulling pranks was from Inoichi when they had first met. Hearing some of the things made her laugh as she realized that pulling pranks actually suited Naruto's childlike, energetic personality.
The conversation between the three was going extremely well and Yugito was able to see quickly why Naruto would befriend these two. However, the friendly atmosphere was interrupted by a loud, angry female voice, "Hey, Nii!"
Yugito looked up to see that the accusing tone was coming from none other than Ino Yamanaka who was looking down at her from her standing position. Yugito only remained silent, wondering what had gotten Ino's panties in a bunch. "I don't care if you're the new girl! You better stay away from my Sasuke! Just because you're sitting next to him doesn't mean that you have a chance, so you better step off!"
Yugito's immediate reaction was to face palm at what she was hearing before the face palm went into Yugito rubbing her temples. Ino's idolization of Sasuke was really annoying and Yugito was actually having a little trouble staying calm.
Yugito took Ino's momentary pause to stop the Yamanaka woman from talking anymore, "I honestly have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I don't like him at all. I was put next to him by Iruka-sensei; It's not like I chose it. For what little it matters to me, I hope you win him over."
Ino-Shika-Chō had a face of comical shock with their eyes becoming nothing more than white circles. Chōji momentarily began choking on his chips and Shikamaru had to save him while Ino nearly lost her balance.
"Wait a minute. You don't like Sasuke?" Shikamaru inquired with a voice that sounded like he was winded, looking at Yugito as if she was an extraterrestrial than a human girl.
"Is it really that surprising?" Yugito asked in response, not really understanding why there was so many girls fawning over the Uchiha in the first place. Although she didn't say it aloud, but from what little she got to know of Sasuke, she could honestly say she wouldn't like him very much.
"Actually, yes! Other than Hinata, I don't think I've met another girl that didn't like him. Until now that is," Shikamaru answered in a tone of awe, which was saying a lot since Shikamaru was the type to remain aloof.
"Well that's good then. So just stay out of my way or else!" Ino finally came out of her dazed state of mind, stomping away after delivering her threat. Yugito had half a mind to see what this 'or else' was, since Yugito knew that she could probably drop Ino with a finger.
Looking around the small recess area, Yugito could see almost her entire class either eating their lunch or mingling with the others. The only two people Yugito could see that were remaining alone were Sasuke, who was sitting on a fallen tree log in the usual brooding pose and Hinata who was eating her lunch alone.
'Shikamaru and Choji were nice enough to keep me company. So I guess I should do the same for her,' Yugito decided, not understanding why a sweet girl like Hinata didn't have any friends. That was going to change from this day forth and Yugito would make sure of it.
"Thanks for everything guys, but I think I'll go talk to Hinata for a little," Yugito told Shikamaru and Chōji as she dusted her shinobi pants. Chōji gave her an understanding look and a wave while Shikamaru muttered his good-byes before reverting his attention back on the clouds.
Yugito slowly approached Hinata from behind, bending over her right shoulder as the blond greeted the blue-haired girl, "Hi, Hinata!"
The sudden voice startled Hinata, causing her to jump a little bit before turning around to see Yugito's smiling face. "Oh, hello Yugito-san. You startled me," Hinata returned the greeting with a small, shy smile.
"Just call me, Yugito. Is it okay if I just call you Hinata?" Yugito inquired with an almost Naruto-like smile, asking if it was okay that they didn't use honorifics when referring to each other.
"Of course," Hinata responded politely with that same shy smile, although it was obvious that she was wondering why Yugito was even speaking to her. The only time they had said anything to each other was after they had finished fighting.
"You seemed kinda lonely sitting here eating by yourself, so I was wondering if I could keep you company?" Yugito explained, having understood the unsaid question, Hinata's smile growing increasingly large after realizing at how kind and caring Yugito really was.
"I'd like that very much," Hinata replied sweetly, Yugito taking a seat next to her as they followed to talk about a series of random topics, getting to know a little bit about each other.
In the midst of there conversation, Yugito's stomach ended up growling again, leaving her embarrassed. Yugito was then pleasantly surprised to see Hinata offer her some of her bento. Yugito was at first hesitant to accept the offer, but after being reassured by the blue haired woman, Yugito helped herself.
"Looks like you've met almost all the important people that I know. Sounds like you've had one hell of a day!" Naruto exclaimed with his signature close eyed grin, having not expected Yugito to make so much progress on her own. Who would have thought that Yugito and Hinata would end up getting close?
Yugito nodded her response with a smile of her own before watching Naruto snuggle into his pillow. This action made it obvious to Yugito that Naruto really wanted to go to sleep. "Thanks for hearing me out. Sweet dreams, Naruto," Yugito thanked the blond, seeing that Naruto was still indeed the caring person she knew him as.
Naruto's 'good night' came in the form of some loud snoring, receiving a light giggle from Yugito as she stood up, placed the chair back near the table before closing the lights and moving on to the bed.
Slowly opening one eye, it was revealed that Naruto had been fake sleeping that entire time so that Yugito would give him some time alone to think. 'Yugito wants me at the academy, but I need to train with Gai and Lee,' Naruto mused, weighing the two options, having to make this difficult decision quickly as he'd end up falling asleep.
Naruto contemplated the pros and cons of each action before finally coming to a decisive decision, 'Looks like I'll be doing 'errands' tomorrow again.' The entire internal conflict he had gone through had shriveled down to one basic thing: His nindō.
Naruto would never break his promises and in order to fulfill the one he had made to Yugito, Naruto would need the strength that he would acquire from Gai's training. The thought of just telling Yugito he was training had crossed the blond's mind, but in the end, he had decided against it.
Yugito, obviously, knew of the promise Naruto had made to her. So, if Yugito knew that Naruto was training himself to exhaustion, it would cause unneeded complications. Yugito would most likely blame herself and try to make him stop. This was something Naruto refused to let happen, so for the time being, he would keep it as his own personal secret.
'Just you wait, Yugito. I'll become stronger and then I'll be back in the academy in no time.'
As I'm posting this chapter I'm a little busy for a long author note and I don't want to postpone this chapter anymore than I already have, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see ya guys tomorrow.
-Reprise