AN: Not much to say here, enjoy!
Chapter 3 –
Naruto woke up to the light filtering in through his window. He looked around his apartment and sighed. He was glad the old man could get him his own place at all, but it was still a dump.
He slid out of bed and dropped his pajamas. Setting a cup of instant ramen on the stove, he picked up an empty scroll and his inkwell. Dipping his pinky in, he began drawing a simple storage seal in the beginning of the scroll. By the time he sat down and ate his breakfast, he had gotten three reusable seals in one of the scrolls, and one more on his sash. He sealed the scroll into the sash and got dressed, his new headband resting on his brow, and his Hirian katanas on his back under his jacket.
Locking up his apartment, he set off down the street at a leisurely walk. After all, he was an hour earlier than he needed to be. On his way to the academy, Yamanaka Mei and Inoichi saw him walking, and did a double take.
"Naruto?" Inoichi asked, incredulous.
Naruto looked over at the clan head and his wife. "Oh! Yamanaka-san! How are you?"
Inoichi shook his head. The boy just didn't get it. "I've told you time and time again. It's Inoichi if anything. I'm good, we were just about to open the flower shop. What are those on your back?"
The demon container remembered that Inoichi was a swordsman and grinned. "Hey Yama- Inoichi. Do you think you could teach me how to use these?" He punctuated his question by drawing both blades, the golden one in his left hand, silver in his right.
Mr. Yamanaka looked at the blades critically. "I certainly could. Swords are a passion of mine, you know."
Mrs. Yamanaka finally got over her shock and said, "Naruto, I like the new outfit! You look very handsome in it." Naruto blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head.
Inoichi looked back up at the boy's face. "I see you passed your test the other day, then?"
Naruto's grin grew wider. "YEP! It was under special circumstances, but I think it's safe to say that I passed more impressively than anyone else." As he said this, he slid his katanas back in their sheathes, with surprising ease. The tips seemed to guide themselves.
Inoichi laughed. "Well, when you work out a training schedule with your new instructor come see me. We'll see about teaching you how to use those."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah! I better, go, I was gonna go see old man Hokage before heading off to the academy." He waved at them and walked away.
Naruto knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. Hearing a "Come in." from the room, he opened the door and stepped in.
"Hey old man! How ya doing?" He grinned.
Sarutobi looked up from his desk and at the blonde. "Naruto! Congratulations on passing. You'll be happy to know that Mizuki is in a metal box right now, waiting to be interrogated."
Naruto smiled faintly. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Old man… Why didn't anyone tell me that I have the Kyuubi sealed inside me?"
The Third Hokage's face fell instantly. "Naruto.. I'm so sorry…"
"Why's that, old man? I'm not mad." Sarutobi looked up, surprised. "I was just wondering why the older generation was obviously told the secret, and not me. It explains a lot, really. I feel better, at least knowing WHY the village seems to hate me." He gave off a genuine smile, completely throwing the Third for a loop. "But that's really not why I came here." He drew his katanas and set them on the desk in front of him. "What can you tell me about Hirian weapons?"
The Hokage stared at the swords on his desk. "How did you get these, Naruto?
Naruto went into the story of how the blades had chosen him. From the pull in his chest that made him stop and examine them in the first place, to the spark and burn that hit him when he opened them, finally ending on Yoko's own tale of the village of Hiri.
Sarutobi looked at the blades then back at Naruto. "I don't know much about Spirit weapons, which is what these are, but one thing I have heard is that they can alter their owner's chakra nature. You are aware of the five basic chakra natures, yes?"
Naruto nodded. "Fire, wind, lightning, water, earth." Despite appearances, he really did learn in the academy. He had figured out a long time ago that he could put himself into a sleep-state and get nearly all of the benefits of a nap, while still being aware of what was going on around him. Aparently a ninja tactic, he later had learned. That didn't stop Iruka from throwing books at him, of course.
The Third Hokage nodded as well. "Yes." He reached into a drawer in his desk and fished around for a moment before drawing a small slip of paper. "This is chakra paper. Channel your chakra into it, and it will reveal what nature your chakra has. If it is wind, the paper will split. Fire it will burst into flames, lightning it will wrinkle, water it will get soggy, earth it will turn to dust. Take it, and channel some chakra into it."
Naruto did so, and a small cloud of smoke appeared. Once it cleared, he held in his hand, a split sheet of the chakra paper, one half was wrinkled, the other was slightly on fire.
The Hokage looked much less surprised than Naruto, but there was still shock on his face. "I thought so. You probably had an original nature of wind, but those blades gave you an additional nature in fire and lightning. The paper would only have shown your strongest nature, but it seems they are all equally as strong within you."
Naruto looked down at the katanas. He picked each of them up, silver in his left hand, gold in his right. Somehow it felt wrong. So he switched the order with the help of a couple Tendrils. Sarutobi nearly choked when he saw how deftly the Chakra Tendrils were being used. "Naruto! Form this handsign for me, please. Use the Tendrils to keep the katanas within reach." As he said this, he brought his hands together, palms touching and fingers laced.
Naruto did so, and the Tendrils flickered once, before solidifying again, seemingly coming out of the back of his hands. "What was that about old man?"
Sarutobi ignored him and fished around in his desk again, before coming back up with three scrolls, one yellow-white, one silver, the last red. "These are elemental scrolls. They contain instructions for wind, lightning, and fire jutsu. They are only basic ones, but I'm sure that won't bother you." He finished with a smile.
Naruto gaped. "O-OF COURSE NOT! THANK YOU OLD MAN, YOU ROCK! But wait... Inoichi was going to teach me how to use my swords, I figured I wouldn't be able to use jutsu very easily if I was going to be a swordsman."
The wizened Hokage chuckled. "Naruto, that's the beauty of you having such control over your Tendrils. You can use kenjutsu with your taijutsu, then just hold your katanas with Tendrils and form handsigns for ninjutsu." He glanced at the clock. "Naruto, shouldn't you be at the academy getting assigned a team?"
Naruto would have fallen over at his stupidity about the handsigns, but the realization of how late it was made him decide he didn't even have time for a facepalm. "CRAP! You're right! Thanks for the scrolls, old man, but I gotta go!" He had two Tendrils sheathe the swords while he put his hand over the seal on his sash, summoning the storage scroll, and unraveled it a bit. Sealing the three jutsu scrolls into his own, and resealing that one into his sash, he turned and ran out the door, once again thanking the Hokage still sitting at his desk.
"He even has his father's proficiency at sealing… That kid… He never stops amazing me. I think I should change his team, though. I don't think he would get along with the people I have him set up with… Looks like he won't need Inoichi's help learning those blades."
Naruto walked into his classroom. There were the classmates he knew, as well as a few he didn't.
Inuzuka Kiba was the first to see him. Well, smell him, really. "Hey Naruto! This room is reserved for the ones who passed. What are you doing here?"
Naruto ginned at his sorta-friend. The dog-user had never been particularly mean to him. Once again, he was suddenly able to write it off as the fact that he probably smelled like a fox to Kiba and his partner, Akamaru, and foxes are a part of the canine family. 'I think...' "Look at the headband, Kiba! I'm a ninja, now."
Kiba looked at him, really for the first time. Not only did he see the headband that adorned the boy's forehead, but he also noticed the new outfit, and swords on his back. "Whoa. Naruto. Nice threads, man! Love the swords, too. You know how to use them?"
Naruto walked over and leaned against the desk Kiba was sitting at. "Not really, but I'm learning. I found a teacher, so as soon as I get the training schedule from my Jounin instructor, I'll start learning." He was about to go start bragging about the jutsu he was planning on learning, as well, but decided it would be better to keep his mouth shut until he found out he could even use them.
"Okay, well cool. Hey, I'll see ya later, okay?" Kiba turned back to the boy next to him, Shino Aburame, and continued trying to engage him in conversation.
Naruto turned and climbed to the next tier of desks. "Hi Ino! Looking good, today." He said without stopping. "Shikamaru, Choji." He nodded to each of them as he says their names.
Ino nearly choked when he complimented her. She really did choke when she saw his new clothes. Her mom had been right this morning, he did look very handsome. Not that she was going to be the one to say that, of course.
Naruto sat down next to Haruno Sakura, the pink-haired girl was currently trying to get a rise out of Uchiha Sasuke, even going so far as opening up her dress a bit, exposing much her of budding breasts, and resting her hand on the raven-haired boy's thigh.
Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, give it up. It's obvious that Saskue-teme's gay." He grinned inwardly. Sasuke was a complicated subject. When they were younger, they had been friends. Then, even before his clan had been wiped out, which was not a secret, he suddenly grew cold towards the jinchuriki. Saying that it was unbecoming for an Uchiha to associate themselves with a lesser mortal. He shook the thoughts out of his head. He wanted Sasuke as a friend again, but first he had to break him out of his emotional shell, and his pride.
Sasuke gave him what he wanted. He spun around and stood up, nearly tripping over the chair in the process. "WHAT? HOW COULD YOU POSSIBY THINK THAT, DOBE?" His defensive tone did nothing to dissuade the gathering crowd.
Naruto kept his face from breaking into a smile. If he wanted this done right, he had to seem serious. "Well, it's just that you get hit on like 80 times a day, by all these beautiful girls, like Sakura-chan, and Ino-chan," he threw in the last honorific for believability, and the gasp from behind him told him it had the desired effect, "and you do absolutely nothing about it." He saw a counter-argument forming on the Uchiha's lips, and continued. "Before you say anything, I've heard you mumbling to yourself while training. I know you want to kill your brother as revenge for the clan he murdered. But you've got to see it from the last Uchiha's point of view."
"I AM the last Uchiha! That asshole Itachi is no longer a part of my clan! So it's up to ME to restore it!"
Naruto couldn't suppress a twinge of a smile this time. That was exactly the desired response. This was going better than he could have hoped. "Restore it? Dude. You are probably classified under the Clan Restoration Act, especially because of the Sharingan. And yet, you push away every girl who flat out announces that they want to have your baby?" Most of the girls in the room blush and look down, suddenly realizing how pathetic they must have sounded. "Sounds to me like you don't want to restore your clan. Sounds to me like you're just an arrogant, gay orphan with an obsession with his brother." He turned back to the front, pretending to be suddenly disinterested in the conversation.
Sakura turned to Sasuke with tears in her eyes. "S-Sasuke-kun? A-Are you really… g-gay?" She says, holding back sobs.
Sasuke looks down at her, then around at the room. Similar looks were on most of the girls' faces. "THAT DOBE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT!" Iruka walks into the classroom. "I AM NOT GAY!"
Iruka looks up at the Uchiha, surprised. He quickly regains his composure and decides to give one last poke at his former student. "Sasuke, it really doesn't matter who you like, it won't help your arrogance and self-centeredness." He says this in an off-hand kind of tone, waving his hand dismissively.
Naruto held back his laughter with god-like fortitude. He couldn't have asked for a better end to the conversation!
Everyone immediately took their seats with the arrival of their teacher, Sasuke back in his former position, but with a stare much more intense, as though he really were trying to look a hole through the far wall.
Iruka looked up at the genin before him. If only they knew that only a third of them were going to pass the next test. It saddens him that he has to lie to them, but that's just how it is. "Now, I will assign your teams. I want to congratulate each and every one of you on graduating from the academy." He began to list off the new teams.
"…and Karashi Hino as your jonin instructor. Team 7 will be Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Fuumin Kina, with Hatake Kakashi as yoru Jounin instructor. Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino, with Yuhi Kurenai as your Jounin instructor. Team 9 is still in circulation. Team 10 will be Akimichi Choji, Grandur Jiules, and Boken Hamatsu, with Sarutobi Asuma as your Jounin instructor. Team 11 is still in circulation. Team 12 will be Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto, with Joharo Hayate as your Jounin instructor." When he got to Team 12, Ino was about to complain loudly about her teammates, but then her mother's voice floated into her head from that morning. "Ino, if you get Naruto Uzumaki on your team, you should consider yourself lucky." When Ino asked why, she looked at her seriously, and said, "That boy will protect you till the ends of the earth if you show him friendship. He is by far the most loyal person I know." She figured that her mother was never wrong as far as she could remember, so Ino kept her mouth shut.
Iruka had finished calling out the teams and most of the class had been picked up by their new instructors. Teams 12 and 7 were the only ones still in the room.
Ino was pacing around, rambling on about how an hour of lateness is unacceptable. Shikamaru was watching Naruto with interest. He had never seen the blonde read before.
Naruto had unsealed the lightning scroll Sarutobi had given him, and was currently deeply involved with it.
The Lightning Dragon looked powerful, but he wasn't sure he could do it without practice, so he rewound to the very beginning. He was impressed that simple physical training while running lightning-enhanced chakra through his body would make him naturally faster. He would definitely have to try that. Deciding that the Electric Blast, a single, conductible bolt of lightning from his fingertips, was his best bet, he memorized the 5 handsigns and put the scroll away.
He was about to take out the wind one, when the door opened, and in walked a man. The man was wearing dark shinobi clothes, and had a sword strapped to his back. His dark hair hung down to his shoulders, and he was chewing on a senbon needle. "Team 12?" The genin nodded. "Meet me at training ground 12." He man said simply before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, a shushin.
Ino looked at her teammates and shrugged before walking out the door, Naruto and Shikamaru in tow. Leaving the future Team 7 alone to wait in agony.
AN: Did you guys like what I did with the scene between Naruto and Sasuke? I did. I'm probably gonna get some hate mail for the team change-up, but don't worry. I have a reason. I'm not sure how I'm going to PRESENT that reason, but oh well. Wave Arc won't start for a couple more chapters, probably. REVEIWS!
Translations:
-teme – bastard, basically. It's really just a general insult, not the dictionary definition of bastard.