Trickshot

Chapter 6

-Naruto-

Eyes blurred with unshed tears, Naruto breathed heavily, throwing punch after punch against a training dummy. He could hear wood splintering underneath the straw, feeling the skin of his knuckles starting to split and drip blood against the target of his venting. There was no technique. No form. Only trying to push out every ounce of his rage.

"Naruto?" hearing a confused voice Naruto whirled around, spotting a girl with brown hair done up in buns.

"Tenten?" He recognized her after a minute from his class the last year with Mizuki.

She looked about to comment on his form before she noticed his expression and the bloody knuckles, "Holy-! Are you alright?" she hurried over, pulling out some gauze as she wrapped his knuckles, Naruto himself too stunned to bother protesting or saying it wasn't necessary.

"I'll be fine." Naruto gave a strained chuckle, wincing at the look Tenten gave him for that.

"This doesn't look fine Naruto." Tenten frowned before glancing up, noting the Shinobi headband on his forehead. "Wanna talk about it?" she sounded awkward, but he couldn't blame her. While they'd never had issues with each other at the academy they'd never been all that close either.

"It's nothing." Naruto tried to wave it off again, "I…I just found out who my parents were. Found out a few things I'd never known." Tenten thankfully didn't ask who his parents were. She didn't press the issue, just continued to silently bandage his hands.

"Well…I see you got your headband." Tenten gave him a grin as she tried to change the topic to something more positive.

"Yeah. Once the Hokage cleared house at least." Naruto kept himself from wincing. It felt weird not calling the Hokage 'Jiji' but he wasn't sure if he could call him that for a while. He understood why the old man had keep quiet about the Kyuubi, about his parents, but it still hurt.

"Cleared house?" Tenten blinked in confusion.

"You didn't hear about that?" Naruto looked surprised but shrugged it off, "A lot of the teachers at the academy and even the headmaster was sabotaging the curriculum and got caught. They were even changing grades."

"So that's why Guy sensei doubled down on training." Tenten had a look of realization as she finished bandaging up his knuckles.

"I never found out who your team was." Naruto flexed his fingers, feeling his rapid healing already taking effect underneath the white gauze.

"My teammates are Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee." Tenten grinned before noticing Naruto's scowl of distaste.

"My condolences." Naruto didn't feel Tenten deserved that as a team.

"I know Neji's a bit stuck up but he's not that bad." Tenten tried to assure him only to look confused once more when he shook his head.

"I was apologizing at you being forced to be on a team with someone like Lee who only graduated thanks to nepotism and the teachers not liking me." Naruto clarified.

"You'd best explain and quickly. That is my teammate you're throwing accusations at." Tenten's eyes narrowed.

"Tenten, you remember the academy requirements to graduate. How important the three base jutsu are to pass and yet he can't do any of them. He could only access Taijutsu, and he wasn't good at that at all back at the academy. He only passed because your teacher asked for him to be passed and put on his team. A teacher who looks like an older version of Lee."

"I…but you said they passed him because they didn't like you." Tenten floundered.

"I was the best at the Henge in our year. I could do the substitution flawlessly. While I wasn't taught Taijutsu properly my stamina was the best at the academy as I was consistently outrunning and hiding from ANBU after my pranks." Naruto laid out each point and with every remark he saw Tenten's resistance to his idea breaking down further and further, "But the academy teachers hated me because of something stupid the civilian council used me as a scapegoat for. Lee passed while I was failed, Mizuki lying to me and saying if I spent a week alone in the forest of death, he'd pass me." Tenten's eyes bulged out at that little tidbit, recognizing the name of the dangerous training ground.

"I…I don't know what to think about all this." Tenten looked torn and Naruto felt a little guilty about breaking her view of her team but he'd rather she be prepared to train harder to compensate than just trust in Lee's ability. Maybe he did get better with a teacher, but Naruto wouldn't believe it till he saw it.

Still though, he found talking to her helped take his mind off…off what the Hokage had told him. So, they kept up the conversation. Talking about their goals, what Shinobi arts they focused on, tips for accuracy and seals. They only stopped when they noticed it growing late, both of them splitting off to head to their homes.

-Tenten-

"Hey there kiddo." Hearing her Dad's voice, Tenten was roused from her thoughts, looking up at her father where he sat behind the counter of the weapon shop. He quickly noticed her conflicted expression, eyes narrowing in focus.

"What happened?" he demanded, quickly flipping the shop sing to closed to focus on her.

"I ran into an old classmate, Naruto." Tenten rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"Uzumaki?" hearing her dad recognize his name Tenten frowned, remembering Naruto mentioning how the Civilian Council used him as a scapegoat for…something.

"Yeah. Dad…what did the Civilian council blame him for?" Tenten asked, narrowing her eyes when her dad choked on his own spit.

"I can't tell you Tenten." He sighed, holding up a hand when she got ready to protest, "Can't, not won't. All I can say is that there's an S class law involved in the matter. The only ones who can tell you without violating it are the Hokage himself or Naruto. I can say that his summarization of the Civilian Council using him as a scapegoat is an accurate one. Kid doesn't deserve the shit he goes through."

"He also said that my teammate Lee only passed because the academy hated him, and that Guy Sensei asked for him. He also says he thinks Lee is Gai's secret kid." Tenten commented as her dad blinked in confusion.

"Wait…I've seen your team. You're telling me that Lee kid is trying to say he isn't related to Guy?"

"…"

"…"

-Naruto-

Head down and lost in thoughts, Naruto barely registered where he was. Only pausing when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jerking startled, he spun and saw a concerned Ashitaka Inuzaka, Kiba's dad, looking at him.

"Geeze Naruto, what happened?" Ashitaka knelt down, checking over Naruto given the bandages that had faint red staining from the initial blood from when Tenten wrapped them.

"…The Hokage told me about the Kyuubi...and about my parents." Naruto sunk into himself somewhat. He knew why so many people hated him now.

"Oh Naruto." Ashitaka pulled him into a hug. No change, no revealed anger about the Kyuubi. Just gentle comfort. Naruto broke, gripping the man's scrubs as he let out the tears he'd been fighting since the reveal. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, how many tears were shed as he poured out his rage and grief. But eventually he found himself moving again, Ashitaka leading him back to the Inuzaka compound.

"Kid!" hearing Tsume, Naruto looked up to see his sensei and the woman who had become the closest thing he had to a mother rush over, Kiba and Hana behind her.

"What happened Naruto?" Kiba noted the bandages instantly, his nose probably smelling the dried blood, "Mom said you ran off after you spoke with the Hokage?"

Seeing them all there, the family who'd found him, Naruto's head dropped once more, shoulders shaking as he mustered up what he could to talk, hoping Kiba and Hana wouldn't think any less of him.

"I…the Hokage told me why the village hated me…and why my parents were." Naruto's voice was shaky as he spoke, noting out of the corner of his eye Tsume's confused glance with her husband. She hadn't been in the room when the Hokage had revealed anything, having been waiting outside. Apparently, she only knew about the Fox in his gut.

"Naruto…what did he say?" Hana asked gently as she crouched down to look him in the eye.

"On the day I was born, the Kyuubi attacked the village after being pulled out of my mother." Naruto's voice was getting raspy from the tears he'd been shedding, Tsume and Ashitaka both going stiff at learning there had been a prior Jinchuriki in the village "Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. But then…my father sealed the Kyuubi into me."

"But the Kyuubi was defeated…by…" Kiba trailed off, putting two and two together.

"Minato Namikaze." Naruto confirmed, feeling the eyes of his father's face on the mountain staring down at him.

AN: So yeah. Next chapter will be either the start of everyone's training with their new team or first mission. Let me know in the reviews which you'd rather see.