Disclaimer: I do not own Negima or Naruto
3. The (not so) Genius Teacher
It was early in the morning, the sun was just starting to rise. Most people were still asleep. Most, but not all. Two figures were seen running down the empty streets, a girl and a boy.
"So,'' Asuna began, an annoyed look on her face as she glanced at the blonde. The blonde was wearing a big black sweater, white shorts and black/white sneakers. "What are you doing here again?"
Naruto didn't even spare her a glance."I'm running?" Was said blonde's lazy answer which only served to make a tick mark appear on the orange haired girl's forehead, much to the blonde's not so well hidden glee.
"Ugh, I can see that, idiot," she growled and clenched fist. "But why are you running here!" she yelled out loudly, while pointing accusingly at him. Mahora was a big place. Really big. He could have easily gone somewhere else for a morning jog. So why was he doing it here? Pretty much following her? This was her moment of peace, before she had to go to school. Of course, she'd rather sleep, but that was not the point. Besides, the blonde was probably going to annoy her all the time he was going to spent beside her, she was sure of it. It was just in his character, or so it seemed.
"Maa, maa, no need to be so loud," Naruto lectured lazily, knowing she hated it when he did that. "There are still a lot of people sleeping, you know." The blonde yawned to emphasize, "To answer your question; I'm here to keep you company."
"I don't need it." Came the cold reply.
Que the heartbroken puppy face. "So cold!"
Naruto smiled a bit when he saw Asuna roll her eyes. Truth to be told, he was actually planning on going to the forest for some light training, but it seemed that fate had other planes and gave him... a stalker? Considering the fact that during the last few days, at different times, this person had appeared at the same places that he himself had also been, he assumed it wouldn't be too crazy for him to think that. Normally he'd have already confronted the person by now, but he decided not to, considering that he was a bit curious as to where this would lead. Ah, drama always made life a bit more fun. Besides he was pretty sure that it was nothing malicious, so why not let it play out itself? He decided, though, that he would keep his training at civilian level, not wanting to assume his stalker was magically aware.
Anyway, just as he was about to go to make his way to the forest, he saw Asuna running towards her part-time job and decided to change his plans and tag along with the bells wearing girl, much to the chagrin of said girl, and honestly, he didn't regret his decision. This way he could get some exercise and annoy the girl. Multitasking! Strangely, though, it seemed that his stalker wasn't doing his/her job today. Oh well, maybe he didn't even have a stalker, and it was just him being paranoid.
He was broken out of his thoughts when somebody called out to him.
"Oi, Blondie, we're here," Asuna informed him, as she motioned for him to stop running, "Wait here for a bit," Having said that she walked inside a building named 'Mai Morning news' while Naruto did as he was told and stayed outside, a few yards from the entrance, his back facing the building as he was waited patiently.
Hearing some loud talking from inside the building, he decided to strain his ears to be able to hear the conversation better. "No problem! If it's one thing I have confidence in, it's my body! Just leave it to me!" He heard Asuna say, causing him to choke on his saliva and blush while picturing a naked Asuna, who was doing a pose. Damn…
'Wh-what the hell is she doing inside!' was his only thought before turning around to face the building only to find Asuna walking towards him with two bags full of newspapers… He blinked. All right, that wasn't what he had expected... or imagined, for that matter.
"What's with the two bags?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, being a bit curious.
"One of the workers couldn't come because he had a cold, so I decided to go in his place," she explained, as she adjusted the straps of the bags on her shoulder, so that they would hang a bit more comfortable, before she started to run, or at least she would have started running, if it weren't for the hand in front of her that stopped her.
"I'll help you," Naruto said lazily with his hand still in front of her.
Asuna looked at him surprised before her eyes narrowed. She pushed his hand away and said, "If you think that I can't handle this on my own, then you're wrong." Having said that, she started to run, leaving a twitching Naruto behind. Damn it, why was that girl so.. so.. damn stubborn.
Turning around he ran after the girl, "Oi, you damn woman! When the hell did I say anything about being a weak girl!" Only for said girl to ignore him and pick up her pace. Mumbling about stupid girls, the blonde started to run faster and grabbed her by her shoulder making her stop. "Oi–"
"Excuse me, is that boy bothering you?" They heard a voice next to them ask. Looking at the source of the voice, they saw a young officer who was standing near them with a bicycle next to him. His black hair was messily slicked back, while his brown eyes were fixed on them.
'Oh look how lucky I am,' the blonde thought sarcastically while crying anime tears. He probably thought that he was harassing her, from the way he was shouting and running after her. It would probably be better if he got rid of that assumption as soon as possible, "No si–"
"Yes!" Asuna cut him off with her angry reply.
"What the!" The blonde yelped, shooting the girl a look of betrayal, "Oi, oi, you're kidding right!" He yelled desperately, while looking wide-eyed at the orange haired girl. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the officer take a few steps forward. What the hell did he do to deserve this? This was really not what he needed at the moment. God, I hate you.
"Is that so?" The officer narrowed his eyes at Naruto, before he looked at Asuna. "Don't worry, miss, I'll protect your pretty face from his." He told her as he struck a pose and gave a shiny smile.
Both Naruto and Asuna deadpanned. Was he… Was he just flirting with her?
The young officer either hadn't noticed their reaction, or just ignored it as he continued talking, "When a beauty such as yourself needs help, my heart aches, and I can't help but want to help you out of you misery." He told her dramatically as his eyes were filled with passion. "By misery, I mean McStupidface over there," The young officer informed them, his voice and face devoid of emotion, as he pointed at Naruto, who put a hand on his chest and looked very insulted at how the officer called him. The young man ignored the blonde's reaction and continued again, his voice once again full of passion. "For as the sky with her many shades is not even a worthy opponent of your beauty." He finished as he struck another pose, this time on his knees, while pointing to the sky, before he looked back at Asuna, giving her an almost desperate look.
Asuna blanched at the look. Yup. Definitely flirting.
She couldn't help but blush a bit at his words, though. Why couldn't Takamichi-sensei be the one that uttered those words to her? Her blush grew at the idea of her crush telling her this. Ah…
She was brought out of her daydream, when she heard the forgotten blonde next to her, scrape his throat. Glancing at him, he didn't really look very happy, sending a heated glare at the officer. Having realized her mistake from before she quickly grabbed the blonde's arm, and decided to clear up the misunderstanding she created. "Thanks, but, uh, he's with me, and we were just having a quarrel, but we're all right again." She told him, as she laughed awkwardly, while Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, being the mature person that he was.
The officer blinked. "You sure? I could –"
Asuna shook her head "No, I'm really sure, it's all right." Needless to say the officer believed her, even if he looked a bit down, while Naruto couldn't help but smile at the idea of having escaped this little problem. God, I love you.
The officer sighed, looking very disappointed, before he immediately recovered. "Ok. Bye." And with that he cycled away, leaving a dumbstruck Naruto and Asuna behind.
"..."
"..."
"Well that was… an experience…"
They shared a look, cracking a smile, before Naruto sighed, "And it all started because I just wanted to help you…" He scratched the back of his neck. "I know you can do this on your own. I know that. But just because you can do it on your own, doesn't mean you have to. I mean, I'm here now, and I can and want to help, so why not just take it a bit easier this time." He explained. "Besides only running can get a bit boring, after a while." He grinned at her as he held his hand out for her to give him one of the bags. Asuna still seemed to be a bit hesitant, before she reluctantly handed him one of the bags.
"Good girl," he praised while patting her on her head as if she was a dog, to annoy her. "Too bad that guy wasn't a kid or old man, right? Otherwise you'd be having a party, right?" He laughed while dodging her attacks and started to run.
"For the last time, I'm not a shota-con!"
"Yeah, yeah, you only like 'men' under the age of the 11 or above 30, right?" The blonde mocked her, as he snickered.
Asuna growled at him. "Just start running, McStupidface." She smirked when Naruto sent her an insulted look.
"Oi! Don't call me that!"
XxX
"Are you alright, kiddo?" Naruto asked a depressed Negi.
At the moment they were both sitting in the staff room. The brat was sitting at his desk, while the blonde teen was leaning against said boy's desk.
"Naruto-san?" he said, glancing at the teen before looking at the ground. "It's just that… I've been trying to help Asuna-san this morning, but instead of helping her it seems that I've only made things more difficult for her."
And it was true. This morning the brat had approached him and Asuna ,while he was gently floating on his staff, which caused both Naruto and Asuna to sweat drop at his recklessness. Apparently he wanted to try and help them with Asuna's paper delivery by letting Asuna on his staff. The funny thing was that the staff wouldn't fly while Asuna was sitting on it, which resulted to Negi asking her how much she weighed. Pissed off, by the rude question, the girl gave him a death glare, before she started to run on her own again. The brat, not knowing when to stop, of course, followed her. Spoiler alert. She wasn't happy about it, and, of course, more glaring, tick marks, and depressed puppy faces happened after that. It was pretty funny, at least… for him it was.
Naruto winked at him, "What're you saying brat? Didn't you see how happy she was after that, she even tried to hug you," Naruto said grinning while patting the brat's head.
Negi sweat dropped, "She was trying to kill me…"
"Ehhh really?" Well it wasn't his fault that his vision was coated with blood. Blame that stupid Bells for running naked around their room. That shower incident was lethal as hell. He could've died from blood loss if he hadn't been pinching his nose. But then again… He shook his head, now was not the time to think about those things.
"You know, Naruto-san," Negi began, letting out a depressed sigh. "Sometimes I wonder whether I'm even capable of being a teacher."
Naruto hummed. "Going to give up?" he asked, his head a bit tilted.
"Wha– No!" Negi quickly denied, flailing his arms around. "I still got to finish my training so…" He looked down. "It's just sometimes..."
"Aha," Naruto nodded in understanding, looking a bit thoughtful, before he opened his mouth again, "You know, the other day Nitta-sensei told me that it's impossible to immediately start as a good teacher. Making mistakes is natural," Naruto squinted his eyes, "Something about how a good teacher isn't born with his qualities, rather he should observe the needs of his students and raise himself to be one," he paused, "...I think he said that..." He scratched his cheek and shrugged his shoulders, "Oh, well it was something along those lines, at least..." He shook his head, while Negi sweat dropped at his attitude. "Anyway, you should really talk with that old man once in a while. He spouts some wise shit. Really inspirational," Naruto advised him, before he continued again.
"Bottom line, though, I think that the old man has a point. We make some mistakes once in a while, you gotta learn from them, little man. And things don't always go as planned, but you know what?" Naruto bumped his fist to his chest. "As long as that fire burns, why douse it? You get chances, take them. You don't? You make your own. No one is stopping us, so might as well give it our best and make everyone's jaw drop while we're at it," Naruto grinned cockily at Negi, as the boy glanced at his staff.
Negi nodded to himself, determination shining in his eyes, "You're right! I'm still here, so I've got to do my best!"
"That's the spirit, Negi-sensei!" A new voice cut in, making Negi jump is surprise.
"Shizune-san, " Naruto greeted, having already noticed her walking their way, a smile on his face, upon seeing the woman.
"Shizune-sensei!" Negi yelped in surprise, at the sudden appearance of the school counselor and nurse. "What can we do for you?" He asked.
Shizune just smiled at his amusing reaction, "Uhuhu… I have the '2-A after-class list' from Takahata-sensei here for you, Negi-sensei," she said while passing him the list, before she turned to face Naruto. "Naruto-sensei, the dean wants to talk with you," she informed him.
Naruto blinked at that, "Hmmm sure," he nodded, before he gave them both another smile. "Well I guess I'll see you later, gaki," he ruffled the redhead's hair and started to make his way towards the headmaster's office. 'I wonder what the old man wants to talk about,' he thought, before he suddenly paled. 'Surely, it isn't about the love potion incident, right?… Or the Bath incident… Or… or…" Naruto started to sweat bullets at the thought.
XxX
The blonde sighed, "Another bowl, please."
"Had a rough day, sensei?" Chao, a girl from 2-A with brown hair and bun covered caps with braided pigtails sticking out of them, asked while passing him another steaming bowl of ramen.
"You could say that," the blonde answered, before digging in.
Ahhh ramen… So delicious…
Finishing the bowl, the blonde couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction, "Ah~"
Chao threw him a smile, "You enjoyed that bowl?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "Ready for another round?"
"Always, sir!" Naruto saluted her, a serious look on his face, before it dispersed in favor for the grin that grew on his lips at the sight of another bowl being put in front of him, "You're the best!" he complimented her, overjoyed with the new steaming bowl in front of him.
Chao smiled as she saw him dig in, unable to help himself, "You either like ramen a lot, or have a real big appetite," she commented, as she glanced at the many empty bowls now stacked beside the blonde.
Having already finished the bowl, he wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve, "Food in general is great, but ramen is the best, ya know," he smiled, giving her a thumb up.
"Your favorite dish, huh?"she mused, giving him a knowing smile, even though the blonde didn't notice, too distracted by the new bowl in front of him, "So, was it always your favorite dish, or did you decide that after you tasted Chao Bao Zi's ramen?" she asked him, cockily, a smirk gracing her face.
Naruto laughed at that, "Nah, ramen has always been my number 1. Believe me, wherever I am, one thing is sure, I will at least have one bowl of freshly prepared ramen at a stand somewhere," he told her.
Chao seemed a bit interested at that,"So you've had ramen from a lot of different places, huh?" she mused, before she grinned, "So where do you rank this one?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at her sudden question, before he looked thoughtful,"Hmm, this one ranks pretty high, I guess. Somewhere in top 10? Maybe 5?" he shrugged. He knew what his #1 was, but he never really ranked the other ramen stands.
Chao nodded at his answer, even if she seemed a bit disappointed, "High, but not the top?"
Naruto laughed, "Sorry, that seat is taken, but it sure comes close," he answered, as he looked apologetically at her. Hey, Chao Bao Zi's ramen was great, but nothing could beat Ichiraku's ramen! Oh, how he missed Ichiraku's ramen...
Chao hummed for a bit, before she nodded to herself, "Then, it's decided," she began, as her eyes shined with determination, "As a new goal, I have decided to continue improving Chao Bao Zi's ramen recipe, until it becomes your new #1!" she declared loudly, her hands on her hips, as she puffed her chest out, standing proudly in front of him.
Naruto blinked at her sudden loud declaration, before a big grin grew on his face, "I guess I'll have to keep visiting you then. You've got yourself a regular!" he declared, raising his fist to her. Even without Chao improving her ramen's recipe, he'd probably still eat here a few times a week, but this made things even more fun.
Chao grinned happily at that, "Business will greatly benefit from your big appetite," she teased a bit, as she bumped her own fist with his.
Naruto rolled his eyes, as he retracted his arm, "Business was already doing great before me anyway," he commented as he looked around her little stand, "This place sure is something to be proud of," he complimented her as a blush dusted her cheeks.
Chao momentarily looked at him with big doe eyes, before she closed them as a soft smile grew on her face,"You think so? I'm happy to hear that..."
Naruto seemed a bit surprised at how vulnerable she suddenly sounded, before he cleared his throat and winked at her, "Anyway, I'll be looking forward to eating the best ramen!"
"Count on it, Teach!" she promised him loudly, a cocky grin once again taking place on her face, making Naruto shake his head at the girl, a smile of his own growing on his face. She was fun.
With his stomach now full and his spirits lifted, the blonde paid his food bill, before he waved Chao goodbye. If he was right, Negi was still busy with his tutoring after-class . He wondered how the boy was doing. Maybe he should pay him a visit? If the boy was busy, he could always spent some time in the staff room. Some of the teachers were fun to talk with. It wasn't really as if he had anything better to do, so why not? Might as well check how things were going with Negi.
"Stop following me!"
Not so good from what he could hear...
Looking towards the source of the voice, Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop and twitch at the sight in front of him. Asuna and Negi were running, or flying in Negi's case, out of the school building. But that wasn't important. Ok, maybe it was, but weren't mages supposed to be secretive about the use of magic here? Then why the hell was that brat flying on his staff while the whole world could see him? Why the hell was he so careless?
All those thoughts vanished the minute he saw Asuna's face as she was running his way. What the… A wave of concern hit him. Naruto gritted his teeth as he stayed hidden from view, hiding around the corner. He quickly glanced between Asuna and Negi. The boy looked desperate, but the girl looked so, so frustrated. She really needed some time to cool off, at the moment. Making up his mind the blonde, readied himself to grab the girl as soon as she was in hands reach, and pull her out of view.
"Asuna, it's me," He whispered quickly, even before she had the chance to start to trash or yell. "What's wrong?"
Her face was full of frustration. "Ugh, I don't care, I just have to get away from him, Naruto!" Naruto gritted his teeth, before he glanced apologetically at Negi, who was flying somewhere in the sky above them, not aware of the location of the girl.
"Asuna-san! Where are you!"
"He's going to find you eventually," He told her, his eyes still on Negi, who seemed to be distracted by the sudden disappearance of Asuna, before he looked at her again. "Full speed. Follow me."
XxX
They both stopped running when they neared the beach. Asuna let out a sigh, feeling less frustrated than before the big run. She slumped to the ground, her legs aching a bit from going 'full speed'. "I just can't get it, so why the hell should I try anymore…"
Naruto frowned, feeling a bit out of his place. "You'll get it. You just have to study a bit harder." He tried.
Frustrated, she pulled at her hair. "I did my best! And it still got me nowhere!" She told him.
"Come one, you just have to continue to study, you'll get it eventually…"
"Oh wow, hearing a genius tell me that gives me so much motivation." She said, her voice full of sarcasm.
Naruto gave her a strange look. "Me? A genius?" He questioned, as he pointed at himself.
Asuna looked at him blankly. "No, I'm talking about that other 14 year old teacher." She deadpanned. "Yes, I'm talking about you!"
Naruto's face softened, a smile gracing his face. "Thanks, but I'm all but a genius." He told her as he bent down to sit in front of her.
Asuna frowned. "Stop acting so modest… Right now, it's only even more insulting," she grumbled.
"No really, I'm not a genius," Naruto denied once again.
Asuna shot him an annoyed look. "Come on, stop denyi–"
"–I had a private tutor," Naruto cut her off, deciding to give some sort of half-truth explanation. "When I was younger, I had a private tutor." He explained, as the girl finally shut up and listened to him. "I was really, really bad at the academics. Bottom of the class, actually." Asuna looked at him in disbelief. "I sucked majorly at everything. Needless to say I hated going to the academy. So guess what happened?"
Asuna looked at him silently.
Naruto sniffed out a small laugh. "I started to skip lessons. Lots of them. What was the point of going to class anyway? I mean, when I tried to do my best I failed, and when I didn't do a thing I also failed. So for little me, it was pretty obvious what I was going to do. So I started to skip class."
Of course, skipping class didn't mean, that he had given up. He still remembered all those times when he would stay up at night, just to try and study some more. For some reason, he still had hope. Of course, it didn't change shit for him, but did that stop him? No, he was not giving up.
Naruto felt a nostalgic filled smile grace his face as he remembered those frustrated nights. "I think I was doing so bad that eventually I got myself a tutor. I was a bit at disadvantage, having missed to much from the academy, but having someone pay so much attention to me, helped me a lot. And with time I got better at stuff. It wasn't me being a genius, doing everything on my own, but it was just me getting a lot of help."
He wasn't a genius, he knew that. And honestly? He was darn happy that he wasn't one. The people that he had met because of his own incompetence, they were the world to him. Had he been a genius, he wouldn't want to imagine how much more lonelier he'd grown up to be. Maybe if he had a family, maybe if the village had liked him, maybe then he would have gotten praised for being one, but considering his own situation, it would only spell more loneliness.
"Some of us just need more attention or help than others and that's okay. If it wasn't for my tutor, I don't know where I would today. And look where it got me. I was just called a genius by a pretty girl, so I'd say I made it pretty darn far!" Naruto joked, as Asuna rolled her eyes.
"That was before you told me this, so…" she mocked him, leaving the sentence unfinished for implications.
"Nu-uh!" Naruto wagged his finger at her, "You still said it and I'm not letting you take it back!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at her, Asuna mirrored his actions, before they both chuckled at one another.
"Negi and I are always ready to help when you need us." Naruto told her. "Mostly because we're pretty much freeloading in your dorm, but it's the thought that counts, right?" He joked, as Asuna rolled her eyes at him, a smile on her face, which made Naruto grin, before he looked up. "It seems that he has caught up to us. Pretty fast too," Naruto said as noticed Negi flying towards them. Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry for telling you to study harder. That was rude of me. You're probably already doing your best. I can't ask more from you than that." He apologized to her, just before the mage landed in front of them.
"I found you, Asuna-san!" Negi called out in relieve. Naruto tried to squash down the guilt that he felt from stealing the girl away from him, just like he had done. That was a bit of a dick move, right? The little red head was worried, after all. Maybe he should buy the kid some tea as an apology...
"You're pretty stubborn, aren't you, Negi?" She glanced at him, before she glanced at the blonde. "Actually, both of you are." She let out a sigh. "Just stop with these weird plans trying to make me feel better, okay, Negi?"
Negi looked down. "But I'm your teacher, and also it's the job of a Magister Magi to help those in trouble." He answered. Naruto smiled at his answer.
Asuna looked at the sky. She couldn't help but wonder what was motivating a kid like Negi to work that hard. "I still think it's weird! Why do you try so hard anyway? You're just a kid, you know…"Asuna said glancing at blonde for a second before looking at the kid again.
"That's because…" Negi began as he told them about the person he admired the most the 'Thousand Master' and his dream of meeting him again.
"Ah, sheesh! I get it! I get it already! All I have to do is study, right!" Asuna screamed as she waved her notebook in the air. "And you guys will help me, right? Blondie pretty much already promised me."
"A-asuna-san?"
"You want to be a magis… whatever it was, right? So right now, you've got to do your teacher job properly, right?" The orange haired girl asked while scribbling something on her notebook, "I'll cooperate with you," she told him, scratching her cheek, a smile tugging at her lips.
Upon hearing her answer, Negi beamed in happiness, throwing himself at her to hug her tightly.
XxX
Naruto was currently teaching 2-A. They had 10 minutes left before the bell would ring. Having finished his own work, the blonde to look around the class. They all seemed to be busy working. Naruto checked his watch and decided that it was enough for today. They had been working quietly today, for the most part, that is, so he deemed it to be all right to let them off a few minutes earlier as reward. Plus he was finished with his own work, so he didn't have anything to do anyway. So might as well start lunch a bit earlier.
"Ok, class, since you guys have been working well today, I've decided let you leave earlier than normal," Naruto told them, as the class cheered, before one his students raised her hand. It was a girl, who had short reddish hair styled with pigtails and two small braids at the bottom. Her name was Shiina Sakurako, if he was right.
"Umm Shiina-san, do you have any questions?" The blonde teacher asked.
"That's right!" she said, while smiling cheerfully. "I've been wondering whether we can call you Naruto since you're pretty much our age!"
He shrugged his shoulders, he didn't really care, to be honest. "Sure, if you want to you can call me Naruto," he answered, before pointing at Asuna. "Except for you!"
"WHAT!" The orange haired girl screamed at the blonde, "And why am I not allowed to call you by your name? Huh Blondie?"
He pointed dramatically at her. "That's because you're a naughty girl," he replied, before he crossed his arms across his chest, "You should call me 'Naruto-sama'," he puffed out, nodding his head in agreement.
"…"
"…"
Naruto felt a sweat drop grow on the back of his head. "You know what… I take that back… You can call me whatever you want just forget what I said," the blonde said while palming his face, "That sounded very different in my head," he muttered, 'Damn that sounded wrong.'
KYAAAAAAAAAAA
"Naruto-sensei we didn't know you were in those things," one of his student squealed.
"I can call you Naruto-sama if that's what you want, Sensei," another student commented.
"Well…" the blonde began as he saw that a lot of his students were standing up and inching closer.
RRRRIIIIINNNNGGG
"Well, have a nice day, bye!" he blurted out quickly, before rushing out of the room.
XxX
Naruto pulled at his hair. Why? WHY?
The little table in front of him was littered with marked mock-exams. All the classes that he taught, shared the same story. Almost all his students had scored drastically lower than before, with the exception of a few students. Causing the average to drop immensely.
Every. Single. Class.
How the hell did that even happen? Had he forgotten something? No, no. He had covered everything in his lectures, so why did they all score so low?
Maybe Negi could help him figure this one out. He looked around the room, noticing that the boy was absent. Kuh, of all the times. Naruto frowned. Konoka was busy preparing dinner, so he didn't want to bother her. His eyes fell on Asuna, who was lazing around on her bed.
"Oi, Asuna!"
"Wha?" she drawled lazily.
Any other time the blonde would've sweat dropped at her tone and posture, but right now he had a bit of a dilemma. "Why did you score so low on your mock exams?" he asked, wanting to know where he had gone wrong.
Asuna waved at him in dismissal. "Meh, it's normal. I always score low on those." And the real ones. Those too.
Naruto shook his head, frowning, "But you're not the only one who failed," he informed her, running a hand through his hair. "Nearly everyone failed. Every class I have."
Asuna looked away, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Oh, so it was time for this conversation, huh? "Yeah, well… How do I say this…" She struggled with her words, not wanting to insult him– She stopped her train of thoughts. Wait, why not? The blonde insulted her all the time, so she could to the same "The thing is..." she began, making the blonde perk up, "You kind of suck big times as a teacher," she threw at him at once, her face straight, as the boy deflated. Cold, hard truth. That stuff hurt.
Naruto shot her an insulted look. "What, why?!"
Asuna shrugged. "Eh, well, you never explain shit."
Naruto snorted, wagging his finger at her. "That's not true, I've lectured you in everything you should know up till now."
Asuna shot him an unimpressed look. "You basically tell us word by word what's written in our textbook. Sometimes you even just refer to the book and that's it."
Naruto looked a bit sheepish. Hey, in his defense it was a good book, so why not? If they had problems with the theory from the book, they could always ask him questions, which – now that he thought about it – they never did. "B–but if you guys don't understand things, why don't you just ask questions about it then?"
She looked at him as if he was stupid. "Yeah, and pull attention to myself. No, thank you." Naruto could relate to her. Yup, that was not fun. Pulling attention to yourself during lectures was a big no-no when he was younger. He would either get ignored or ridiculed. Class-clown attention was something entirely else.
Naruto frowned. "Well what about the worksheets I've been giving you guys, you should at least get some practice from that." Those worksheets were great usage for preparing for exams.
Asuna sweat dropped and looked away. "Yeah, about that…" A guilty looked crossed her face. "Never even did one of them," she admitted to him.
A vein popped from his forehead. "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN MY CLASS THEN?!" he yelled back at her in frustration, as she looked away sheepishly. She had been silent during his classes for the most, so he had assumed that she was working on them.
"...Drawing." Naruto glared at her, she glared back. "Yeah, well you never check on us, so why bother," she defended herself. Honestly, what had he expected to happen? That they would just all listen to his instructions, just like that? Nah, not happening.
Naruto huffed at her answer. "It doesn't matter whether I check or not, you're making them for your own benefit."
Asuna shrugged once again. "I don't care…"
Naruto squinted his eyes at her, "What about you being more serious about your schoolwork as you promised yesterday, eh?"
Asuna sweat dropped, remembering her own promise, "That starts tomorrow!" she tried to defend herself.
"That's what you said yesterday too," he rebutted, giving her a look that clearly showed he did not believe her words.
"I just needed extra mental preparation. I swear, I'll start tomorrow!"she promised him once again, before she turned away, deciding that she had talked for too long, and that it was time to take a quick nap before dinner. Naruto sweat dropped at her behavior, before he focused on his problem again.
Frustrated, he let out a big sigh. From what he'd heard from Asuna, he was a shit teacher. Considering what kind of student he himself was at the academy, it was kind of stupid of him to expect certain things from his own students. Had he been the teacher of his younger self, his younger self would probably not even bother to show up during his lessons. Probably too frustrating and time-wasting for his younger self.
Shit. He had fucked up. Naruto ran a hand through his hair. Fortunately this was only a mock-exam, so he still had time for the real deal. He could make things better. He had to, especially after promising old man Konoeman that he was going to become one of the best teachers here.
"What's wrong, Naruto-san?" Negi asked, noticing how frustrated his fellow teacher looked. The boy was now clad in his pajamas. His red hair was damp, as a towel rested around his neck.
Naruto perked up at hearing his voice. Guessing from his state, the kid had just finished his shower. Thank god. He was really starting to stink again. It really didn't help that the little teacher was still opposed to taking baths and showering. Asuna had probably forced him to go, while he had been so engrossed in his paperwork. An idea entered Naruto's mind.
"Hey, Negi," Naruto patted the space next to him for the kid to sit down. "Could you show me how you prepare for you classes?" he asked, a sheepish smile on his face, "I'm trying to improve my lectures, so I thought maybe I could learn a few things from you."
Negi blinked, before he smiled at him. "Of course, Naruto-san, let me just grab my stuff."
Naruto nodded at him, his eyes full of determination. He still had some time before the midterms, so he'd better work on his lectures. The next time he stood in front of the class again, he was going to make sure that every student of his understood every single word that came out of his mouth.
XxX
Negi and Naruto were both in the teachers' lounge. Both were busy with grading papers and preparing things for next class… well Negi was. Naruto was busy reading manga. Hey, in his defense, he had finished all his work, so relaxing was allowed.
"So are you two coming along in your teaching?" Shizuna asked.
Naruto laughed nervously, remembering the graded mock-exams and what Asuna had told him the other day." Well, I think I'm getting the hang of it," the blonde answered wide-eyed as he scratched the back of his neck. It was the truth, somewhat. "Still have some room for a lot of improvement though…" Naruto coughed, glancing at Negi.
"Well it's going well, but I feel like I'm not being taken serious sometimes," Negi told her, pulling her attention to himself. "Since I'm younger I tend to get treated like a kid and nobody comes to see me for advice or anything."
"Hehe… Well that can't be helped, can it?" Shizuna responded, sending the boy a knowing smile.
Before the three of them could continue their conversation, two of Negi's homeroom-students stormed inside the room.
"WAAAH SENSEI!" They cried out.
"Yes?" Negi asked with a sweat drop.
"T-there's a school fight in the school grounds," the blue-ish white haired girl said with tears.
"Take a look at this wound! Please help us Negi-sensei!" The pink haired one cried out.
"Ehh! Who would do a terrible thing like that?" Negi asked himself in horror, as he stood up and looked at Naruto. "Naruto-san let's go, we have to stop this fight!"
"Yeah," the blonde agreed. "But first I have to use the bathroom." The girls and boy sweat dropped a bit at that. Hey, when you got to go, you got to go. "Go ahead Negi, I'll catch up to you," he reassured him, as he started to walk towards the restroom.
When Naruto arrived to see what was happening, he saw a large fight scene with Asuna and Ayaka in the midst of it fighting the high school girls. Negi was standing on the side trying to stop the fight, while flailing his arm frantically over his head. Seeing that more girls wanted to join the fight, he decided that it was time for him to step in.
"Oi, what do you girls think you're doing!" An annoyed voice shouted.
The fighting stopped and all of the girls turned to the source of the voice to see Naruto walking towards them with an annoyed look on his face.
"It's Naruto-sama!" Sakurako shouted causing Naruto to face fault.
"Don't call me that, please!" He shouted back at her with a twitching eye. He really didn't need Old man Konoemon to ask him why his students called him 'Naruto-sama'. That old man would probably think that he was into role-play or something and that he forced his students to call him that for his own pleasure. That was not something he was waiting for. The blonde shuddered at the thought, before he turned his attention to face the high school girls. "What are you girls…? Oi… why are you looking at me like that?" 'Not again.'
Before he even knew it the girls surged towards him and cuddled him.
"Kyaaa! You must be the rumored teenage teacher."
"He's so cute and handsome!"
"Look at his cheeks. It's as if he has whiskers!"
"Kyaaa! Let me touch his whiskers!" one girl shrieked, while touching his whiskers. As soon as she started to pet his cheeks, the blonde froze, his bangs covered his eyes and he started to tremble while clenching his fists.
Slowly the older girls backed away, scared that they angered the blonde teacher.
'It seems that they angered the Blondie,' Asuna thought with other students and Negi mirroring her thoughts.
Naruto, with his bangs still covering his eyes, slowly turned his head towards the girl that petted his cheeks, making said girl straighten up in fear.
Just when the girls thought that the blonde would explode, the blonde did the unexpected and let out a big shiver, before he fell to his knees. He raised his hands to his cheeks, holding them, as big blush adorned his face. "S–such soft hands…" He sighed out dreamily, causing everybody, excluding Naruto and the girl, to face fault.
The girl who had been petting his cheeks, flushed at his words and turned away from the blonde. She covered her red flushed face with her hands, as she muttered about how this was all so sudden, and that she needed more mental preparation before she was ready for the next step. Meanwhile the other high school girls recovered from their reaction and let out another 'Kyaaa' before they replaced the other girl and started to pet Naruto's cheeks.
'Damn it, I want to pet Naruto-sama's whiskers too,' Sakurako and a few other girls thought in jealousy.
'Kukuku so his cheeks are sensitive. Interesting,' A certain perverted mangaka thought, while planning on how she could get her blonde sensei with her new achieved information.
Asuna was slowly standing up with a dark aura covering her, making her classmates inch away from her. "You. Stupid. Blondieeee!" she screamed while running at the blonde. She quickly grabbed him out of her seniors' hands and started to shake him, while the seniors tried to attack her and get the blonde back in their own hands. What they all hadn't expected was for her blonde teacher to grasp the Asuna's hands and remove them from his collar.
"Stop it! All of you!" He yelled, frustrated and ashamed at how he got so easily side tracked. The girls froze at his sudden loud voice. "Why the hell are you guys fighting?" Naruto demanded, before he shook his head. "Doesn't matter, I don't care, but don't be so disrespectful to Negi, you guys! He earned his teacher-statue fair and square, so don't be an asshole and ignore him," Naruto lecture as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I mean… I mean… Ughhh, you guys just shouldn't fight, okay. It's not allowed so just don't do it. It doesn't matter who started, you know, and bla bla bla…" Naruto shrugged, looking at Negi for him to add his own spiel of words, while the girls sweat dropped at the blonde's attitude.
Negi gave the blonde a thankful look, before he nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, fighting is frowned upon, so please refrain from fighting."
"Aside from the fact that it's not allowed, as Naruto-sensei and Negi-sensei said," A new voice continued. Heads turned to its source, only to find Takahata standing in front of them, a cigarette hanging lazily from his mouth. "Don't you think that it is your job as high school students to be more mature and set an example for your underclassmen?" he smiled at the high school girls, as they bowed their heads in shame.
Takamichi looked amused at their reaction, before he turned to his former class, and continued, "You guys should've known better. Fighting isn't approved of in this school," he said, before he gave a pointed look to Asuna and Ayaka, making them both blush in embarrassment, as they both remembered the many times they fought each other during class.
'Wow Takamichi solved the matter in just a few seconds," Negi thought as he looked at the older man, his eyes filled with admiring, before he glanced at the blonde, who was now standing next to him. "And even Naruto-san was able to get their attention, when I couldn't. He probably could've solved the problem on his own, even without Takamichi interfering. They're both great, ' Negi thought, growing even more determined than before, 'But I won't lose to them! I'd better do my best too!'
"Hmm, seems like Bakahata solved it this time," Naruto looked thoughtful as he watched Taka interact with his former class "Oi, Negi…"
Negi blinked when the blonde suddenly called out to him, "H-hai?"
"Bakamichi solved it this time," he said before smirking. "But the next time something like this happens, we'll be able to do it on our own, okay?"
"Hai!"
XxX
"Heh? What are you!" Asuna observed their half of the field and then their opponents half of the field. Ayaka seemed to get it as well. "JUST A MINUTE! HAVING MORE PEOPLE ON YOUR TEAM IN DODGEBALL IS ACTUALLY A DISADVANTAGE! THE MORE PEOPLE WE HAVE, THE EASIER IT IS FOR EVERYONE TO GET HIT!"
"No shit, Sherlock," Naruto commented from the sidelines while leaning against a wall.
He had a free period. Having already finished all his work, the blonde had no idea what to do to spent some time. He had thought about it for a while, before he shrugged and decided to go to the rooftops for some lazy time. The weather was great, so it was a good day to spent some time watching the clouds. Maybe he could even take a nap? With this weather it would be peaceful.
His plans were ruined, though, when he arrived and saw both class 2-A and the high school students from before on the rooftop, both ready to jump at each other, before Negi intervened and tried to solve the issue between them with a game.
He wasn't going to able to take a nap peacefully, so he did what anyone else would do, and enjoyed the show.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!" she shouted back annoyed.
"Well I wanted to but before I could even open my mouth someone was already shouting: 'All right! You're on!'" he shouted back, mimicking Asuna while saying the last part. "Besides, you all agreed, so…" Naruto shrugged. To be honest, this was the first time that he had heard of the game dodge-ball, so truth to be told he himself had also not known. He didn't even know how the game worked, just a few minutes before. Now he had seen enough to conclude that it was basically just a game of hitting each other with the ball.
"Kukuku. So you've finally realized." Eiko raised the ball once again. "If you brats all cluster up like a bunch of monkeys, it's only natural that you can't dodge," She said, making the other girls go into further panic. "Now, who's next to go down?" She threw the ball and ended up hitting the back of Fumika's head.
Eiko smirked and threw another ball that this time went for Nodoka. The ball was just about to hit her when Asuna came in front of her and caught the ball, before she pulled Nodoka behind her.
"Honya-chan, are you alright?" Asuna asked, her eyes never leaving the seniors.
"A-Asuna-san! Thank you!" The shy girl said, relieved to be near their ace.
"Don't turn your back to them, or you'll be targeted for sure," Asuna told her, her eyes never straying from her opponents.
"Thank god for Asuna's Baka power," Yuuna cheered, while pumping her fists.
"Here I come! I'll show you the true power of middle scholars!" Asuna called out and threw the ball with all the strength she could muster.
"Eeeeeh? Asuna-san threw it at full Baka power and she blocked it with just one hand?" Negi exclaimed, as a tick mark appeared on Asuna's forehead.
"GOD DAMN IT! SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT 'BAKA POWER'!" She growled, as she glared at all her classmates in the field.
"How about Shota-Power?" Naruto shouted back and snickered, before he stopped when he felt the death glare that Asuna was sending his way. Naruto paled. "Just joking."
"Your group never had a chance against us in the first place!" Eiko laughed mockingly. "Behold our true identities!"
Naruto immediately closed his eyes when he noticed that the girls were about to rip their uniforms off. Luckily it seemed that the girls had gym clothes under their uniforms and Naruto could open his eyes again.
"Kanto Regional Dodge ball Tournament Championship Team: Kuroyuri!" The high school girls shouted together.
"…"
"..."
"...Aren't they too old to be playing Dodgeball?" Asuna asked the other girls, who were now all huddled together in a circle, crouching as they looked at the high school students with squinted eyes. It was easy to say that they were not impressed.
"...They even won a tournament?" Makie repeated in disbelieve.
"Maybe they were the only participants?" Yuuna tried to make some sense of it all, while Negi and Naruto both just looked at dodge-ball championship team in awe, even going as far as clapping their hands for them.
"Sh-shut up! Who asked you guys anyways!" Eiko shouted at them, angry blush on her face. Looking at two of the other high school girls, she nodded at them, before she gave her command, "Triangle Attack!"
"Don't worry Negi-sensei," Ayaka assured her teacher, as she saw how worried their sweet Negi-sensei looked, "I will lead the defense," she told him, just before the seniors launched their attack, bouncing the ball between the three girls before it finally hit Ayaka in the face, making the girl ponder about what kind of great formation this 'triangle attack' made use of for it to have been able to land a successful attack on her, as she walked towards the sidelines. Many more followed after her. 2-A was losing more and more girls and before they knew it the score was almost even. They still had eleven girls left, while the high school team still had ten girls left.
"They caught up to our handicap," a worried Ako pointed out with a frown.
"At this rate we might lose," Makie followed, just as worried.
"Seems all you babies have left are the slowpokes and the little kiddies," Eiko said mockingly, her eyes locked onto Asuna. "So I guess that makes you the next target!"
Eiko tossed the ball to a team mate, who hit it high into the air. The high school student jumped up beside it, forcing Asuna to look into the sun, making the sunlight blind Asuna's vision, before she spiked the ball down, hitting Asuna hard and knocking her over.
"One more time" Eiko yelled, throwing to ball once again at Asuna only for it to… miss her entirely? They all looked confused at ball that was now rolling a few feet next to the bells-wearing girl. That ball wasn't supposed to miss. From where it was thrown it had even giving Eiko a hundred percentage hitting rate. So why did it miss the girl?
They all turned their head to Naruto, when they heard he was fluting an innocent tune.
Noticing that all the heads were turned to him, Naruto ceased his fluting. He blinked. "What? What did I miss?" His eyes widened as he looked around in confusion, making all the others sweat drop.
Negi shook his head, before he rushed to Asuna's side. "Are you okay, Asuna-san?" he asked worriedly as Asuna gave him a smile.
"It's just a scrape," she replied, patting his head. "I'm fine."
Negi frowned and tried to use his magic only for Asuna to interfere and whack his head, making him yelp and stop his magic.
"Don't get any stupid ideas. You're just as bad as them if you use violence! Weren't you the one who suggested a sports contest?" Asuna said. "There's no glory in winning a match unfairly! If you're a real man, you'll win it fair and square!"
"Asuna-san…" Negi said in awe while looking at her walk towards the sidelines where Naruto was standing.
"Hmmm I guess that even you can have your way with words," Naruto commented jokingly, his eyes never leaving the match. "Nice little speech, Coach Kagurazaki!"
"Shut up, Blondie," Asuna replied. She glanced at the blonde before looking away, a pink dust covering her cheeks. She didn't know why, but she was pretty sure that the blonde was the reason the ball missed her. "...Thanks..?"
Naruto gave her an innocent look, "You going crazy? Thanking me out of nowhere?" he chuckled when he heard her groan out a 'ugh, never mind'.
"Aren't you going to help them?" Asuna asked curiously.
"Me? Nah," The blonde smirked and said, "It'd be unfair of me to enter now, right? I mean, I'm guessing you guys want glory, so we can't play unfair." Asuna rolled her eyes at him, for using her speech against her. "Besides I've got a feeling that Negi got this." He smiled when he saw Negi motivating his students.
XxX
"We did it!" The girls of 2-A cheered.
After hearing Negi-sensei's advice, the girls had begun using their own unique skills to completely dominate the game causing the score to be 10 to 3 in their favour.
When the game was over Eiko had tried to hit Asuna from behind with a ball, only for it to be blocked by Negi, who threw it back while channeling some wind magic subconsciously. Resulting in stripping the majority of the high school girls from their clothes.
AN: Yup, Naruto's past is tweaked. Hints have been thrown to let you know this. You'll get a sort of flashback chapter in the future.
Thanks for the answers about the chakra fiasco. It was helpful and informative. Certain answers did make me think about how it's unfortunate that the Senju never got as much panel time as the Uchiha. I mean, a statement being backed by panels/pictures makes it so much easier to comprehend, than just only reading a statement like: yeah, they were same level. Considering what the Senju were known for, it would have been badass to see some more of them. Same goes for every great clan, to be honest.
Also, just a head up, but school is starting again, so updating will take even more time now. I'm sorry, but priorities. It doesn't help that I'm only able to write once it turns 2 AM, which sucks.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading the chapter. Have a nice day!