The thing with revelations like the one Naruto's just faced, is that they're so surreal he's got not clue how to react to it.

Should he flail and cry? Should he get angry at the kyubi, the village, his father–anyone at all? Should he rush inside the bathroom, lock it and go on some strike?

No. Freaking. Clue.

So Naruto doesn't react at all. At least that's what he thinks.

When he wakes up the morning after his little chat with Konoha's infamous nightmare monster, he's reasonably shaken up. Skipping school, as much as he wants to, isn't an option. Mostly because his friends are A-grade worriers and they'll be at his door again unless they see his eye-bag heavy face.

He's washed up, dressed and out of the apartment in record time. The walk to the Academy feels slower than it should, with his mind lugging to catch up with his whirlwind of emotions.

He's a jinchuuriki.

So what? Does that change things? Should he be worried that a giant fox beast resides within him, evil smirks to boot? Is he supposed to tell someone, or like, act like he's not actually having a panic attack in the bowels of his head?

Again. No freaking clue.

With such questions jumping around in his mind, he walks inside his classroom an hour before he's supposed to. Of course, Shikamaru's taking a nap on his seat by the window and for a moment, Naruto considers turning heel and going to the library like he'd had all those months ago.

But something compels him to drop in beside his friend, to be comforted by the silent company when his mental faculties are in shambles. It's a quiet few moments in which Naruto soaks in the stillness of everything around him. Even the birds chirping outside sound oddly muffled, and so do the voices in his head.

"Hey," Shikamaru peeks at him from below, head hidden behind the crook of his elbow.

Naruto blinks, smiling slightly, "Hi. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah," Shikamaru stretches into a sitting position, one arm draped over the backrest as he turns completely towards Naruto. "I wasn't sleeping at all."

Naruto raises a brow, "Don't tell me you do this all the time. Pretending to nap while you spy on people. 'Cause that's, like, unethical."

Shikamaru snorts, rolling his eyes, "You know that as shinobi, we will definitely be going on 'intelligence gathering' missions right? What do you think you'll be doing there? Walking up to the lead and asking them about the super secret security details politely and hope they'll humor you?"

"Shut up, smart-ass," Naruto grumbles, head titled sideways on his palm, elbow propped against their shared desk. "That's different."

"Is it?" Shikamaru's gaze is searching while a throughtful frown takes over Naruto's forehead.

"Yes," he confirms, "we're all on the same side here and for that, we need to trust each other."

Shikamaru hums, turning away to scan the treeline visible outside the window. Naruto hesitates to break the ensuing silence. He isn't sure what's caused it in the first place.

"Do you... " the Nara's voice is soft, confused, as he speaks, eyes fixed on a random cloud above but faraway from the present. "Do you ever think that Konoha's not all sunshine and rainbows? That we're being bullshitted every day by this... this perfect little illusion of brotherhood and harmony and blind patriotism?"

Naruto bites his lip, looking the other way. What he's about to say is accepting a fact that he's always been first to fight against.

He sighs, "Every single day, Shikamaru. Every single day."

They stay seated, face turned the opposite ways, a truth lying heavy in the distance between them.

Years later, Naruto will look back on this moment and think of it as the start of something special, something his journey will be defined by. For Shikamaru, it will be the profound point of newness–a new outlook, a new perception created by the things he's observed and the things he knows he hasn't.

"That elder," Shikamaru says, looking at Naruto again. His friends makes eye contact with him, blue eyes bright but tired. "He was supposed to be on our side."

"I know," Naruto says softly. "So were countless other people," he rolls his shoulders, staring at the clear blackboard ahead, "do you think we'll always be disappointed by those around us and keep doing the same, too?"

"As long as we have expectations and hope," Shikamaru replies, smile bland.

"What brought this upon, Shikamaru?" Naruto finally asks. The Nara's always been pragmatic with an ability to cut through bullshit with ease but Naruto knows his friend had faith in Konoha and its leaders–his father was one, after all. So this sudden change in attitude is surprising but then again, if anyone can look at Konoha and see its darkness, it's Shikamaru–for his realism and for the fact that his clan literally deals with shadows.

"Lets just say that I've always noticed things," Shikamaru glances at Naruto, "but recent events made them more apparent to me."

"Hey mom?"

"Yes? What's with the long face, Shika?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering... I went through dad's childhood albums this afternoon."

"Oh they're such drab ones. He never smiled properly, did he? Always that stupid smir–hey, honey, what's wrong?"

"Um. Is it... Was the fourth hokage really dad's friend? Were they really batchmates at the academy?"

"Of course. Oh those two were library pals! You wouldn't believe the mischief your dad got up to in those days. I was a friend of the fourth, too, y'know? Go through my albums as well, someday. Ku–er, Minato's wife was one of my best friends."

"Oh."

"I miss them both so much. They were truly kind people and exceptionally talented on the field."

"Hmm. It's a pity they didn't have someone to carry on their legacy. They had no child, right?"

"R-right. Not to my knowledge."

**

The implication of that statement sends both chills and warmth down Naruto's spine. They've never discussed it before, but they all know and see how he's treated by the Konohans. The flinches and fearful gazes, the whispers and rumors, the sneers and occasional curses that come his way.

All at once, his mind clears of uncertainties, of worst case scenarios and plans to be secretive. He's still coping with truth of his father being Konoha's hero and that had become significantly easier after he'd let his friends in on the secret.

A burden shared is a burden no more.

"Sooooo, Shika."

"Yeah?"

"Promise not to freak out?"

Shikamaru gives him a look that's bored and apprehensive all at once. He waves a hand, "Go on, go on. I won't–"

"Narutoooo!"

Both their heads whip in the direction of the sound, just in time to witness Kiba's enthusiastic entry into the classroom, Sai in tow with a canvas clutched under one arm.

"Hey, Kiba! Sai!" Naruto shares a look with Shikamaru and a mutual understanding is sealed between them–some conversations are only meant for selective ears. "What's that," the blond nods at Sai's newest piece of art, "another white rose?"

Sai gives him a smile and he's getting better at making it look genuine. It's still a little too sweet, too perfect but Naruto knows he's trying and that's all that matters.

"No, it's a person."

"Well, then, show us!" Kiba nudges Sai in encouragement and Naruto scoots to the edge of his seat to get a better look.

Sai shrugs and flips the canvas towards them, holding it close to his chest as he observes their reactions with a keen eye.

"Not gonna lie," Shikamaru says, "but this is hella disturbing."

Naruto traces the skillfully painted story, each brush stroke adding to the emotion of the piece. But no matter what angle he looks at it from, the message conveyed remains the same: a younger looking Sai with the end of a rope in hand, pulling it with all his might as it tightens around the neck of another boy, this one with a kind smile but hollow, dull eyes. The atmosphere of the painting is tangibly oppressive and even thinking of what inspired Sai to draw this piece raises the hair on Naruto's body.

Sai's smile turns a touch bitter, "Reality often is."

"Hey, for what it's worth," Kiba says with a finger on his chin, nose almost pressed onto the tough fabric of the canvas, "your outfit is pretty badass."

"Oh?" Sai flips over the canvas again, "thank you, I think. That is a compliment, right?"

"Of course!" Kiba grins, slinging an arm around Sai's shoulder as he pulls the boy down the aisle, chattering happily as they walk.

"That was odd, yes?" Naruto whispers, brows drawn together. He's not known Sai for long but with each day that passes his new classmate's past appears to become bleaker and bleaker.

"Definitely," Shikamaru yawns, "but he won't say a thing. Even though sometimes, I feel like he wants to."

Naruto chews on the inside of his cheek, absently waving at Chouji and Shino as they enter. "It's almost as if... as if he can't speak about what he's been through. But not like a contract or anything. Remember what he said about not being at liberty to disclose information? Do you think that's voluntary?"

Shikamaru catches Sasuke's eye who seems to be approaching them as he shakes his head, "Nope. My gut tells me Sai's being forced to stay silent on this matter."

"Me too."

"Hey," Sasuke waves at the two, taking a seat ahead of them. He looks solely at Naruto as he continues, "Are you... um, feeling better?"

"I am, thanks," Naruto shoots him a smile, a small, fleeting one but genuine nonetheless. A visible tension uncoils within Sasuke as he nods in return. "Sorry for running away like that yesterday. I was just a bit... shocked."

Sasuke's head swivels towards Shikamaru and finding no question in the Nara's eyes, he figures Naruto's not been tight-lipped about what they'd discovered yesterday.

"It's cool," Sasuke says. He swallows then, hand twitching on his lap as he scratches at his neck with a hand. "Uh. I was wondering if you were free after school today? I had some... things I wanted to talk about."

"Oh?" Naruto leans forward, curiosity surfacing with vigour as he looks at Sasuke's body language for any hints. "We can't talk right now?"

The Uchiha's eyes dart around the occupants of their class before settling back on the blond again. He shakes his head, "No. Can't. I need to speak with you alone."

"Alright," Naruto grins, leaning back into his chair, "Stay by the tree swing after school. I'll join you there."

With a nod, Sasuke turns back ahead. Shikamaru elbows Naruto in the gut, mouthing he's gonna murder you. Naruto rolls his eyes, shoving his friend's arm away, a good-natured smile plastered to his face.

Fast footsteps snag their attention and they're greeted with Iruka's grinning face.

Hands on his hips, their teacher raises both his arms in a grand gesture of welcome, "So, who's ready for an impromptu class competition?"

"I don't think this is working!" Tenten throws her hands up in the air, groaning at the mess of rolled up paper balls littering the ground.

"What, giving up already?" Naruto hides a smirk as he finishes the last stroke of his standard pocket dimension seal that's used in every storage scroll–he keeps the last array open to connect it to a channelling passage similar to his Chain Transfer Seal. It's not worked before for objects like metal or rock but he thinks he's tweaked it enough to make it possible. If not, he can always ball up the parchment and start afresh.

"Yes," Tenten grumbles, even as she starts reviewing their previous attempts with a hawk's eye, ignoring Lee's knowing look. "I feel we're going about this the wrong way."

Naruto halts, placing his brush by the side and takes rest against the trunk of the tree they're seated under. "Then how do you think we should do it? We only know the first three commands so far: reversal, containment, and linkage. Following the order is our best bet, right?"

Tenten purses her lip, hands finding solace in messing up her already frizzy hair. "But what about the other obvious components?! We need near-instant speed–because hello, this is teleportation! We need a spring up function 'cause I can't sit there fumbling till I've a grip on my tanto. We need to define limits on the storage and need to find how many uses can come out of one seal. Also, how do we fuel this seal? With chakra? Do we need a specific kind? Would wind-natured chakra be a better mediator? Do we even have–"

"Hey, hey, Tenten," Naruto's kneeling in front of her with his hands on her shoulders to ground her endless stream of consciousness. "This is great. You're thinking on the right track. Just calm down, okay? We're gonna figure this stuff out, I promise. But I need you to slow down. Can you write your thoughts on paper for me? I think that'll go much smoother for us to get on the same page."

Tenten nods jerkily, some of her bubbling panic disappearing. The rest still lingers though. It's an unpleasant thought that her first real mission is soon upcoming and she's yet to make any real progress with her method to summon weapons. She wants a proper chance to show her talent of wielding the wide range of weapons she can handle masterfully but mostly, she wants to survive in their world. She knows enough about it that being wary of enemy territory and eager to have aces up her sleeve is only a natural train of thought for her.

Besides, her teammates seem leaps and bounds ahead of her. Lee's on a fast track to becoming one of Konoha's finest taijutsu user and Neji's... he's already one. With a clan backing up his training and Gai-sensei's careful tutelage, the Hyuga is only getting better and better.

But Tenten is a the odd man out. She can't win in a taijutsu battle against any of her team members to save her life. She's not even interested in that shinobi art. Her talents lie elsewhere but to find a weapons' master to train her is impossible–because, well, Konoha doesn't have one.

She shakes her head as if ridding herself of the funk that's settled in there. There's no point getting so worked up about it when doing so hinders her seal-creation process that's already down the drains to the begin with.

"Okay, um," Naruto chews on the end of his brush, observing Tenten thoughtfully. "So I know we agreed to finish this project before tackling another but we're running out of time. Do you wanna try and make a compact storage seal for your weapons first? That way at least you can still have them without the bulky scroll."

Tenten hums, eyes wandering over to Sakura, Lee and Chouji who are regarding her with concern. Oh. So they'd seen her little outburst, too. She gives them a reassuring smile and they relax enough to go back to their own conversations.

"It'll have an even smaller storage space," Tenten says, "but I guess if we manage to maximize it as much as we can, a compact seal will be my safeguard in case things with the teleportation seal goes southways."

"It won't," Naruto says with a smile, "but you know what they say about back-ups."

"Uh-huh," Tenten returns the smile, sketching out a simple storage scroll. "Time to shine, blondie."

Naruto huffs a laugh and snatches the parchment from her hand, making adjustments and additions as his brush moves with assured fluidity. Not for the first time, Tenten sits transfixed by Naruto's genius at work. It's not that she can't understand what's being drawn, rather she can't imagine it if it wasn't being thrust into her line of vision.

She sighs, eyes roving over the entirety of the ground–their seals, her friends, the trees and grass, the small flowers dotting the area and she lets contentment wash over herself.

She can do this.

With the help of the people around her, she can succeed.

The thing about being Sakura Haruno's friend is that you get used to her random bouts of stubbornness that sprout for unexpected reasons. Today is no different.

So when the bell rings indicating the end of their Shinobi History lecture, Naruto responds to Sakura's insistence of walking him home with exasperation.

That is, until he remembers his promise of meeting up with Sasuke to discuss whatever private matters the boy wanted to share.

"Can you wait by the gates? I'll come back in ten."

"Nope," Sakura says cheerfully, interlocking their arms as she swings them back and forth childishly. "Wherever you go, I go."

"Even if I've gotta go to the boy's bathroom?" Naruto asks, raising a brow in veiled amusement.

Sakura's nose scrunches up but she replies with a "Even then, yes."

"You're kind of disgusting, Sakura," Naruto snorts with mirth colouring his voice. He nudges her along as they walk towards the swing. He hopes Sasuke won't mind–though if he does, he'll let the Uchiha handle the job of sending Sakura away because that's bound to be an entertaining sight.

"Hey Sasuke!" Sakura greets the boy with a smile who frowns at her in reply.

"What's she doing here?" Sasuke gives Naruto an unimpressed look.

Naruto chuckles nervously, "Well... um, she just came? Sort of invited herself over, I guess? She does that kind of thing a lot."

"Then tell her to go away," says Sasuke, his grip on the rope of the swing tightening as he eyes Sakura.

"You can address me yourself, you know?" Sakura says, meeting the Uchiha's gaze with a fiery one of her own. "Besides, I'm not interested in whatever mega-secret you've got. I am here because I wanna speak with," she jabs her index finger on Sasuke's chest, "you."

"Er... about what?" Sasuke asks, irritation melting away into confusion as he stares at the girl who'd once fake-swooned as he'd entered the classroom. Not for the first time, he realises how little he actually knows about his peers, who they are, what motivates them, what they think of him. He hadn't cared for those things before but lately, it's become more and more appealing to give in to the temptation of letting himself be swooped into friendships (he's done it already–with Naruto, with Lee).

"About yesterday," Sakura says plainly, ignoring Naruto's groan.

"Fine," Sasuke rolls his eyes. He doesn't have the time to argue with her anyway. "And it's not some secret I wanna share. I'm here to call in a favour."

"Huh?" Naruto utters with absolute eloquence.

"A favour," Sasuke repeats, "that you owe me."

"Thanks guys!" Naruto says, genuine gratitude lacing his words, "you've been great help! Let me know if you need anything, I'll definitely repay y'all."

Shikamaru waves a dismissive hand.

"It's nothing. Besides, this was...fun," he scratches his neck awkwardly. "Fuuinjutsu is interesting."

Sasuke agrees but he doesn't forego the small debt Naruto owes him. He's learned to never refuse any advantage and though he doesn't think Naruto can do anything particularly beneficial for him, it won't harm to have his help if he ever requires it.

*

"I owe you a favour?" Naruto looks at Sakura for help. His long term memory isn't the greatest so if he does indeed owe Sasuke anything, chances are he's forgotten about it.

The narrowed look Sakura subjects Sasuke with is loaded with suspicion. She nods, "Uh-huh. He helped you in a seal experiment months ago," she scoffs, "how petty are you to hold onto it even now?"

"Petty?" Sasuke challenges, the cockiness his clan was known for emerging, "I call it being smart and resourceful."

"That's something an asshole would say," Sakura sniffs.

"It's better than being a stupid bi–"

"Children, children! Sheesh!" Naruto levels them both with an annoyed look, "Cut it out with the unnecessary antagonism, alright?"

Sakura holds the blond's alight gaze for a moment before deflating and turning her head away in her classic sulking pose. Sasuke stays silent, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

Naruto heaves a sigh, confused with the sudden irrationality that Sakura's displaying. She's usually the most level-headed person in a conversation but he guesses everyone has their bad days. He decides to ask her about it later and turns towards Sasuke again.

"So, name your favour? What do I have to do?"

Sasuke fidgets with the fraying edges of the rope for another moment before bracing himself with a steadying breath. His face transforms into hard lines of determination and a resolution that Naruto instinctively knows means a lot to the Uchiha.

"I need you to make me a seal."

"Cool," Naruto mutters, excited by the prospect of developing his craft further. "What should it do?"

Sasuke's black eyes hold a kindle in them, a fire that's waiting for dry leaves and sticks.

With a half-smile that's only for show, he says, "It should block out a bloodline permanently."

Dark shadows crawl along the corners of the widespread cavern, enveloping its occupants in anonymity.

Hushed conversations and muted laughter ring in the space the mercenaries share with each other. There's a howl of mockery followed by indignant protests till the cave is flooded with the sounds of late-night idle chatter.

One figure sits by the rocks on the far-end, detached from the pointless socializing of his colleagues and partner. With his back to the wall, he surreptitiously pulls out the small slip of paper delivered to him earlier that morning.

Unfolding it, his eyes scan its content in one swift look before a tiny lick of flame burns it to ashes in his hand. He flicks away the remains of his message absently, and goes back to analysing the ridges of the ceiling.

Till late into the night he remains there. Only one sentence weighs on his mind as his contemplation turns in the direction of planning and plotting.

The chick needs the worm in four night forts.

Now that is interesting.

And terrifying.

Author's Note: Look at me pretending to be all mysterious with the figure in the cave. Pffftt. We all know who it is. ᕙ( ͡ ͜ʖ ͡)ᕗ

Also Sakura is officially Naruto's older protective sister figure and I love her for it.

The Shika-Naruto conversation at the start is gonna be important as I've tried to highlight already. Just some friendly negotiating. Not. Swiggles is kind of my idea-dump so I am going totally wild with it, sorry not sorry.

That's all, I think.

Thanks a ton for reading!!

Have an awesome day ahead.