So, this is just a little birthday present from me to all of you. For those concerned I have disappeared, I've just been smashing through a new Danmachi story, having written 130K words for in the past 6 months… wow… I didn't realise it was that much until I just checked the word count…
I actually do still have a backlog of 26 chapters from my other stories on my pat reon and 10 for my new Danmachi story (as well as some bonus free stuff for future chapters).
The summary is I was hoping to do a big mass update if I passed my specialist exam but I just missed out, otherwise I would have done a mass update a few weeks back. Will be resitting in October, so if I pass that time, I will do a mass update then.
I am now also writing bits and pieces progressively and posting them on my pat reon for free.
The other points are about my discord, discord. gg/ mgAZ9GGuFG and a group writer discord, /veQrzjgNYh (where we are actually writing a group Danmachi story too).
Since FF emails do tend to come and go, following my pat reon for free, or joining my discord, means you will get alerted when I do post updates (again, emails are down as I post this, but I'm not going to let that stop me from posting).
I choose to post a chapter from TBOTE and NSUU as I have 5 more updates for both of them (10 updates total) done already, and my Danmachi one MWTMIAHASMH.
As an aside, if I get two more patrons in my SSJ3 Tier, I will post an extra update from my backlog, which I can maintain for 2 years from now even if I write nothing at all, every month, to go with my Danmachi monthly update.
Well, enjoy!
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Previously:
Naruto would reunite with Yakumo on his first day of the academy, while also noticing two of Danzo's agents had been placed into his class. After the day of classes, Naruto and Sasuke would spar, with Yakumo observing, while Hinata watched from afar. After the spar, Naruto would instruct Sasuke to walk Yakumo home while doubling back on Hinata and having a short chat with her about standing up to bullies. The next day would see the group back at school with the curriculum seemingly being changed, with Shurikenjutsu practice in the afternoon. Naruto would then stun the class with his skill in Shurikenjutsu.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Heavily demonic voice'
'Fox or Death talking'
"Fox or Death thinking"
*expression*
Jutsu
Flashback
Chapter 11 – Awesomeness is contagious
As Naruto relished in the gobsmacked gazes of his classmates, Iruka asked Naruto a question.
'Naruto, how did you do that? That was very precise and advanced Shurikenjutsu.' Said Iruka, gathering everyone's attention.
'It wasn't that hard, I just thought about where I wanted things to go and how to make it happen and did it. Plus, I got some great tips from you and Mizuki-Sensei.' Said Naruto.
'That doesn't make sense! You can't just wish to be good at things!' Protested the boy Naruto had learnt, was called Kiba.
'You have to wish real hard though, like really hard. Not just wish though, you have to believe you can do it.' Said Naruto.
'So are you trying to say you used the power of your mind to make things happen?' Asked the fourth person involved in the recent practice, Ino.
'Yeah, I guess that is about right. Before you do something, you need to believe you can actually do it, or you will fail.' Said Naruto.
'Well Naruto, thank you for that explanation. I guess we can see how that advice changes things for tomorrow's session.' Said Iruka.
'We get to do this again?' Asked Naruto excitedly.
'Uh, yes, we will be for the rest of the week.' Said Iruka.
'That's right, so everyone, get home and rest well for tomorrow's lessons.' Said Mizuki, dismissing the class.
'What the hell was that?' Asked Sasuke in a harsh whisper, quickly walking over to Naruto.
'What do you mean?' Asked Naruto.
'Weren't you the one saying to lay low and avoid attention?' Asked Sasuke.
'Well how would I pass the academy if I didn't have some skills somewhere?' Said Naruto, causing Sasuke to hang his head in defeat.
'Whatever, I'm out of here.' Said Sasuke, seeing some of his fangirls preparing to make a beeline for him.
Say what you will about Sasuke, but the right motivation would make him even faster than the Fourth Hokage, not that he would ever be able to try. As Naruto made his way over to Yakumo, he noticed one of Sasuke's fans was instead approaching him.
'Hey, you're that kid that's always hanging out with Sasuke, aren't you?' Asked Ino.
'Wow, is that what people think my name is? That's a terrible name. Could you imagine being named That-kid-that's-always-hanging-out-with-Sasuke Uzumaki?' Said Naruto in amusement, causing Yakumo to smile.
'I didn't mean that was your name, fine, my name is Ino Yamanaka, you are that boy called Naruto Uzumaki, right?' Said Ino, rephrasing her sentence.
Naruto looked at her with narrowed eyes.
'That boy isn't my name. I am Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki.' Said Naruto flatly.
'Okay then, Naruto-Naruto Uzumaki.' Said Ino, giving a small smirk, causing Naruto to beam.
'So you do have a sense of humour! Well, what did you want to talk about then Ino?' Asked Naruto, placing his hands behind his head.
'Just that you always spend time with Sasuke, and it seems like he gets along with you… what's your secret?' Asked Ino.
'Oh, I broke into his house and ate one of his tomatoes.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to tilt her head in confusion.
'Are you joking?' Asked Ino.
'Nope, that's really how Sasuke properly met me for the first time.' Said Naruto genuinely.
Ino praised herself at being able to tell when someone was lying to her, and Naruto's genuine expression confused Ino all the more.
'So how did you stealing his food make you two friends?' Asked Ino, tempted to rub her temples.
'It was a conversation starter. It's not like I got to see him being awesome with Shurikenjutsu and then just walked up to him and started a conversation. That's pretty brave I reckon.' Said Naruto in amusement.
'It isn't brave, why should I be scared of talking to you?' Asked Ino.
'Well then why are you scared to talk to Sasuke? We aren't that different really.' Said Naruto, crossing his arms over his chest.
'I-I'm not scared to talk to Sasuke, I just don't want to be rude.' Protested Ino.
'And coming up to me out of the blue isn't rude?' Queried Naruto, causing Ino to huff.
'Well I was going to ask you about the Shurikenjutsu thing as well.' Said Ino defensively.
'Exactly! See, you just need a conversation starter, even if it is stealing his tomatoes.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to sigh.
'I guess that makes a little bit of sense… somehow.' Muttered Ino.
'Well, did you really want to ask about the Shurikenjutsu stuff, or was that just a way to talk about Sasuke?' Asked Naruto.
'Both really. How did you do that, really?' Asked Ino.
'Well, it's like I said, I really wanted to do it and believed I could do it, then it was just a simple matter of testing it out, didn't you see my two tests before the real thing?' Asked Naruto.
'You mean to tell me that was the first time you tried that?' Asked Ino in shock.
'Well yeah, you always need a first time to try things, then a second, third and fourth time. Sometimes you just get lucky and do things right the first time, it helps when you are awesome.' Said Naruto.
'So does that mean you just got lucky?' Asked Ino.
'Nope, luck will only get you so far, you only get awesome through hard work.' Said Naruto.
'C-could *cough* Could you teach me how to do that then?' Asked Ino, avoiding Naruto's gaze.
'Do what?' Asked Naruto.
'The shuriken stuff you did.' Said Ino.
'Is that it? That's not going to be hard, I'm pretty sure you can learn that from Iruka and Mizuki-Sensei.' Said Naruto.
'Fine, can you teach me to be awesome then?' Asked Ino.
'You're already pretty awesome though.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to blink in surprise.
'What do you mean?' Asked Ino.
'You're the first girl to come up and speak to me and only the second person to start an individual conversation with me. It takes guts to do that to someone you've never spoken to before.' Said Naruto.
'Yeah, I am awesome. But I would still like some help.' Said Ino confidently, before becoming more subdued towards the end.
'Is this really about becoming awesome, or just trying to speak to Sasuke?' Asked Naruto.
'Is it so bad if I say both?' Asked Ino.
'Nope, just wanted to make sure. You need to remember the real reason you are doing something, or you'll fail before you start.' Said Naruto, before turning to Yakumo and sharing a look with her.
'Get here an hour before classes start tomorrow and we can start making you awesome then.' Said Naruto, turning back to Ino.
'An hour early?' Whined Ino.
'Who knows, maybe Sasuke will be here too, or maybe not, guess you need to come early to find out.' Said Naruto with a shrug, before following Yakumo out of the academy.
'What was that all about?' Asked Yakumo, once the pair were out of earshot.
'I dunno, I liked her reactions. She is pretty brave to be honest, I like that. Plus, having one of them around will keep Sasuke on his toes.' Said Naruto.
'Are you and Sasuke really friends?' Asked Yakumo.
'Yeah, we just have a strange relationship.' Said Naruto.
'So was that tomato story true?' Asked Yakumo.
'It really was.' Said Naruto with a grin.
'Strange relationship all right.' Said Yakumo with a small smile.
-line break-
The next day, Ino dragged herself out of bed in the morning. Despite knowing there was a chance Sasuke might be there, Ino couldn't find it in her to do her hair in the morning, settling for a quick shower and letting it air dry, she sleepily pulled her clothes on for the morning. The sun was halfway above the horizon, with the bright sun causing Ino to blink a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light, while also waking her up. It didn't take long at all and Ino managed to arrive five minutes before the scheduled meeting time. Looking around, Ino was somewhat disappointed that no one had shown up yet and was still holding out hope that Sasuke would also be there. After ten minutes passed, Ino crossed her arm over her chest, tapping her foot on the ground in impatience. A further ten minutes after that and Ino was ready to start letting out some curses, only to notice something funny.
"Since when was the academy gate black?" Thought Ino, knowing it was usually a sterling silver colour.
'Naruto, if you are out there show yourself!' Yelled Ino.
'What do you think?' Asked Naruto, camouflaged against the gate with Yakumo on his shoulders.
'I'd say it is good enough for one lesson.' Said Yakumo, before Naruto stepped forward.
To Ino, it looked like the gate was stretching out to reach her before a pop was heard and Naruto and Yakumo were revealed.
'Wow Ino, I didn't think you notice us that quickly.' Said Naruto, walking over with his companion on his shoulders.
'You were hiding on purpose? Why? Didn't you say we should meet here at this time?' Asked Ino.
'Yeah, but awesome isn't something you can teach. You need a spark of awesomeness to grow from and seeing us is a sign of awesomeness. Come on, let's go to the field.' Said Naruto, before making his way to the training posts.
'And what if I never spotted you?' Asked Ino, crossing her arms over her chest as she followed.
'Then you and I were going to stand there for a long time, that's why I've been carrying Yakumo for the past half an hour. We really didn't think you'd spot us so quickly.' Said Naruto with a smile.
'So how long were you waiting for?' Asked Ino.
'Half an hour before you got here.' Said Naruto with a small shrug, causing Ino's jaw to drop.
'That's crazy, you would have been waiting for almost two hours before going into class!' Exclaimed Ino.
'Oh, I wouldn't have gone into class if you didn't spot us. I would have waited until the afternoon. I don't really need the Shurikenjutsu theory, or do I need to do another demonstration?' Replied Naruto.
'Well, I would like another demonstration… but wait, do you mean you would have stood waiting there for hours?' Asked Ino.
'Yep, that's why I'm carrying Yakumo, it would be unfair to make her stand for over six hours.' Said Naruto with a small nod.
'What about you?' Asked Ino, quirking an eyebrow curiously.
'I can go standing for hours, days even, it wouldn't bother me.' Said Naruto, as the trio finally arrived at the practice range.
'So where is Sasuke?' Asked Ino, as Naruto squatted down so Yakumo could get off his shoulders.
'He isn't here. I thought our first training session should be free from distractions, so I can see how good, or bad, you really are, first.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to sigh.
'Fine.' Said Ino.
'Ok, so to start with, try throwing these.' Said Naruto, handing Ino half a dozen shuriken.
'Wait, these are real shuriken, how did you get these?' Asked Ino.
'Well there isn't much point in practicing with blunt ones, there aren't going to be much help in a fight, and you should get comfortable using the real thing.' Said Naruto.
'But what if you get hurt?' Asked Ino.
'I can heal injuries, don't worry.' Said Naruto, brushing off Ino's concerns.
'So to start with, why don't you try throwing one at that branch there.' Said Naruto, confusing Ino.
'Why aren't we using the targets?' Asked Ino.
'Because you get to practice that this afternoon, you should aim for different targets in our practice.' Said Naruto.
Ino nodded and grasped the shuriken between her second and third finger of her right hand, before throwing them outwards, her arm swinging out to the side.
'Wow, that was really good? Have you done this before?' Asked Naruto.
'I've practiced with flower stems before.' Admitted Ino, causing Naruto to laugh.
'Man Ino, you really are awesome, learning how to throw flowers which have like no weight, that's really cool. Here, try this then, throw all of those shuriken an equal distance along the trunk of that tree.' Said Naruto.
Ino, buoyed by Naruto's compliment took the remaining shuriken and threw them, notching a shuriken every few centimetres down the tree's trunk.
'Not bad, not bad at all.' Whistled Naruto, getting close to the tree and observing the sites of the shuriken impact on the tree.
'Ok, now it is time for the fun part, here is a kunai, try and throw it in between the hole of the shuriken you threw into the branch.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to look at him in disbelief.
'Are you serious? That's a tiny hole.' Said Ino.
'Any hole is big enough for the tip of a kunai, I'm not saying go through it.' Said Naruto with a raised eyebrow.
Ino took a deep breath before throwing the kunai, only for it to clang off the shuriken and fall into the grass. Ino looked at Naruto expectantly.
'Don't look at me, this is your training, you need to go and get it again. Think of it as motivation, if you don't get better fast, you're going to spend most of your practice walking which is still something, but not the goal here.' Said Naruto.
Ino sighed but conceded the point and went to pick up the kunai. After another two dozen attempts and two dozen walks of shame, Ino finally hit the target.
'Great job, you passed the practice test, now it is time for the real one.' Said Naruto, causing Ino's cheer to evaporate.
'That was the practice test? So, what's the real one?' Asked Ino.
'Well, you saw me throw more than one thing at a time, now you need to do that as well, here are five kunai. You need to throw them in between each shuriken on the trunk.' Said Naruto.
'What? Those two exercises aren't related.' Protested Ino.
'Well I don't want to spoil things, but there is going to be a third step.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to give a nod of understanding.
It only took three attempts this time, but Ino eventually managed to get a kunai in between all her equally spaced shuriken, with the last under the final shuriken.
'I guess you know what the next step is?' Asked Naruto rhetorically.
Unfortunately, Ino found the next step of the training much more difficult. As the minutes ticked by, Ino became more and more frustrated, constantly getting only a smaller subset of the targets, which eventually led her to cut herself on one of the shuriken as she retrieved her kunai.
'That's enough.' Said Naruto, walking over to Ino.
'I'm fine.' Said Ino, only for Naruto to take her hand in-between his own.
Ino blushed at the intimate act, before a green glow lit up their faces.
'I said that's enough. You're frustrated now, you can't learn when you are frustrated. If you were doing this to spite me, or someone else, that might give you the motivation to keep going, but you are frustrated with yourself, and your technique is getting worse. That's enough for today, you did well, very well.' Said Naruto, releasing Ino's hand, now fully healed.
'Class is going to start in ten minutes, we should probably head in.' Said Naruto, as he quickly yanked out the kunai and shuriken from the trunk, before throwing a kunai up at the branch, dislodging the last two weapons and placing them back into his pouch.
Ino looked at her hand for a moment, running her fingertips along the palm and marvelling at how it was now healed, before running to catch up to Naruto who had reached Yakumo.
'How do you know medical ninjutsu?' Asked Ino.
'I know a lot of things, Ino. Doesn't mean I'm going to tell everyone about all of them, no spoilers, as I tell everyone, you need some surprises in life.' Said Naruto, before the trio entered the classroom.
Naruto laughed, having seen Sasuke had picked a seat in the middle of the classroom and put a hooded coat on. Unbelievably, none of his fans had noticed him. Naruto smiled as he passed Sasuke, a finger to his lips, as he sat Yakumo in Sasuke's preferred seat, with Naruto sitting beside her.
'Hey you can't sit there, that's Sasuke's seat!' Said one of Sasuke's fans, getting some quiet murmurings of agreement from the class.
'Sasuke already has a seat, he doesn't need two.' Said Naruto, confusing the girls who had protested, as they tried to find Sasuke.
Ino looked to Naruto who discretely signalled that Sasuke was sitting two rows behind him. Ino followed Naruto's signal and noticed a partially disguised Sasuke, the pair seemed to lock eyes for a second and Sasuke panicked, only for what Ino did next to cause him to exhale in relief, as she raised a finger to her mouth and giggled, before sitting next to Naruto, causing her fellow blond to look at her in surprise.
'That was a golden chance for you, no one else has noticed him yet.' Pointed out Naruto in confusion.
'Don't you know, gold needs to stick together, you're the only other blond in the class.' Said Ino.
Ino watched as Naruto looked at her in surprise, before it morphed into confusion, before he started snickering.
'I guess awesome people have to stick together.' Said Naruto in amusement, before noting Shin and Sai sat either side of Sasuke.
'Okay settle down everyone.' Said Iruka, entering the room.
'But Iruka-Sensei, Sasuke has gone missing!' Squealed one of the girls.
'He's right there.' Said Iruka, instantly recognising Sasuke through his poor disguise.
Sasuke took his hood off and was then easily recognised by the rest of the girls in the class.
'Anyway, time to start today's lesson.' Said Iruka.
As the class went on, Ino started to notice Naruto staring at her occasionally.
'What is it?' Asked Ino, as the teachers gave them a fifteen-minute break.
'Why didn't you go sit with Sasuke? You were one of the only girls who spotted him.' Asked Naruto.
'Just like that?' Asked Ino, only for Naruto to shrug.
'Why not, you sat next to me just like that?' Retorted Naruto.
'That's different, we came into class together. It would be rude to leave you like that.' Said Ino, causing Naruto to place his head on the desk on his side and stare at Ino.
'So are you going to join us at lunch then?' Asked Naruto.
'No, I can't just join you for lunch.' Said Ino.
'What if I invite you, hmm?' Asked Naruto.
'Maybe next time then, I still need to do well at the practical training this afternoon.' Said Ino, avoiding Naruto's gaze.
'Okay, your loss.' Said Naruto, before giving a yawn and dozing off on the desk.
'You shouldn't be embarrassed about spending time with Naruto. There is a reason Sasuke hangs out with him, you know.' Said Yakumo to Ino.
'What do you mean?' Asked Ino, causing Yakumo to give a small smile.
'Naruto doesn't care about appearances or anything like that, if he wants to help you, that means you are special, and Naruto knows these things about people. That's why, Naruto is also special, and that's why someone like Sasuke wants to be his friend.' Said Yakumo.
Ino nodded at this but didn't speak, with Yakumo then also putting her head down for a nap as well.
"Well, might as well. We did start early." Said Ino, before placing her head down on the desk facing Naruto, before closing her eyes as well.
As time passed, Naruto felt himself rouse and opened his eyes, only to see Ino's sleeping face in front of him.
"Not exactly what I was expecting." Thought Naruto, before sitting up, noting Yakumo had just woken up as well.
'Should we wake her up, class is about to start?' Asked Yakumo.
'I guess.' Said Naruto, before nudging Ino's shoulder.
'Ino, wakey-wakey.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to groan as she lifted her head and rubbed her eyes.
'Morning.' Said Ino, before noticing she was staring sleepily at Naruto and quickly sobered up.
'How long was I out for?' Asked Ino.
'Just ten minutes, the break is almost over, have a good nap?' Asked Naruto.
'Well I could have used a bit more time, I did wake up early today.' Said Ino.
'True, but it'll be lunch time soon and then after that you get to show off your new skills, aren't you looking forward to wowing Sasuke?' Asked Naruto.
'I guess.' Said Ino half-heartedly, before noticing the puzzled look in Naruto's eyes.
'I mean of course! I'll show everyone.' Said Ino passionately.
'Show everyone what, Ino?' Asked Iruka, causing Ino to look at the teacher mortified and sink into herself.
'Ino is just excited for the Shurikenjutsu practice this afternoon.' Said Naruto.
'I… see. Well then, we better get through the rest of the lesson first.' Said Iruka.
'Why did you say that?' Hissed Ino.
'Isn't it true? I thought you'd like that chance to show off a bit. I'm sure it would impress Sasuke.' Said Naruto.
'Well don't bring attention to it, what if I do bad?' Asked Ino nervously.
'Don't worry, you won't do bad, I trained you, didn't I? Awesome people recognise other awesome people, so don't stress.' Said Naruto, causing Ino to blink.
'You're really that sure I'll do well?' Asked Ino.
'Of course, just remember the most important part, you have to believe it.' Said Naruto.
-line break-
As the lunch bell rang, Naruto raised his arms in a stretch and yawned, before looking at the class. It seemed Sasuke had finally taken his words to heart, as he was gone already, ensuring none of his fan-club could follow him. Naruto went outside with Yakumo following behind, only to notice many in the class were watching him.
'What's the deal, is there something on my face?' Asked Naruto.
'No one is looking at you, they just want to see who is with you.' Said Kiba.
'Oh. Okay then.' Said Naruto, before whispering something to Yakumo.
A moment later, the two disappeared, causing a round of groans. A few pairs of eyes did seem to be busy however, as they watched a little patch of colour scale its way up the building. While one set was too shy to do anything, the other pair entered the building again, unknowingly drawing another pair of eyes.
'Hey Sasuke!' Said Naruto, startling his friend who had gone to the roof of the academy to hide.
'Naruto! Why the hell did you scare me?' Asked Sasuke, having leapt off his chair and spilt a few tomatoes on the floor.
'Really? That's what you ask about, not the fact that we just came up the side of the building?' Asked Naruto.
'Oh. Hey, wait a minute, how did you do that?' Asked Sasuke.
'Don't worry, I'll show you this afternoon.' Said Naruto, which caused Sasuke to settle down and then notice his ruined lunch.
'What do you have against me eating tomatoes?' Asked Sasuke, as he picked up his split food and put it in the bin.
'Couldn't you just be more careful with your food?' Asked Yakumo.
'Careful? With this guy around? You might as well ask me to keep an eye on my shadow.' Retorted Sasuke bitterly.
'That's rude, I'm no shadow, the Hokage is the shadow, which never really made sense to me, since they are supposed to be seen, but no one ever looks for their shadow.' Said Naruto with a small shrug.
'Naruto, I say this with a small amount of respect, but you are crazy.' Said Sasuke flatly.
'I agree, I am crazy awesome.' Said Naruto cheekily.
'Well, at least the two of you agree.' Said Yakumo with a shrug, as she climbed off Naruto's back.
As the three then sat down to eat, with Naruto passing Sasuke some extra tomatoes he had brought with him, there was a small knock on the fire door.
'Who is it?' Asked Naruto with a sing-song voice.
'You know who it is.' Said Ino.
'Yeah, should have figured after this morning, come in Ino, or is it out, hmm?' Said Naruto.
Sasuke looked like a deer in the headlights as he saw a fangirl approach the group, but strangely she didn't fawn over Sasuke and instead sat across beside Yakumo.
'Why aren't you eating anything?' Asked Naruto.
'I didn't pack my lunch today, since someone made me wake up early.' Said Ino.
'Oh, is that it? I thought you were dieting or something stupid like the rest of Sasuke's admirers. Which I don't understand, since Sasuke's mum wasn't exactly thin.' Said Naruto, only for a tomato to hit him in the face.
'Hey what the hell? Haven't I told you about not wasting food before?' Asked Naruto.
'You called my mum fat!' Exclaimed Sasuke.
'No I didn't, I said she wasn't thin, there is a difference.' Stressed Naruto.
'What's the difference?' Asked Sasuke suspiciously.
'You can look like something other than thin or fat, I thought your mum looked good. Like a well-trained ninja.' Said Naruto.
'So you liked the way my mum looked?' Asked Sasuke suspiciously.
'Yeah, I did like her long hair too, I don't think I could pull off long hair like that.' Said Naruto enviously.
'I liked mother's hair too.' Admitted Sasuke, having settled down.
'Oh, before I forget, here Ino, I brought an extra lunch.' Said Naruto, rummaging through a small bag he had with him.
'You did?' Asked Ino, before Naruto gave her a bento box.
'A bento? I'm surprised it isn't instant ramen.' Commented Sasuke in amusement.
'Well I don't have any hot water or a microwave up here.' Retorted Naruto.
'And how did you know you were going to be having lunch up here?' Asked Sasuke.
'I had faith in you, and look, you found somewhere where you aren't being stalked by rabid, desperate, girls.' Said Naruto, before turning to look at Ino.
'No offense, Ino.' Said Naruto, causing the blonde to fume.
'I'm not rabid!' Protested Ino.
'So you are desperate then?' Asked Naruto.
'No!' Said Ino, now thoroughly mortified.
'You're going to need to learn to develop thicker skin if you plan to stick with us for any longer.' Said Yakumo, causing Ino to hang her head.
'Don't feel bad, you're doing better than Sasuke was at the start.' Said Naruto.
'He did this to you too?' Asked Ino.
'What do you mean did? He still is.' Said Sasuke.
'He never did that to me.' Said Yakumo.
'That's different, I like you, I'm still warming up to these two.' Said Naruto, causing Yakumo to give a smile.
The group descended into a comfortable silence for a few minutes as they ate, before the bell rang.
'All right, let's do this!' Shouted Naruto, before jumping off the side of the roof and scaring the others down below as he landed in a gust of wind.
'I guess we should probably follow him.' Said Sasuke, as made his way down with Ino and Yakumo following.
'What the hell man, did you just jump off the roof?' Asked Kiba.
'Why not, I'm awesome enough.' Said Naruto.
'Who does that?' Asked Kiba.
'Lots of people do, haven't you seen all the people jumping along the rooftops.' Said Naruto.
'Those are ninja though.' Said Kiba.
'Ninja is a state of mind, believe it!' Said Naruto.
'What does that even mean?' Asked Kiba in frustration.
'Ok everyone, let's go to the target range.' Said Iruka, emerging from the classroom with Mizuki, Ino, Sasuke, and Yakumo bringing up the rear.
Luckily for the group, no one noticed Ino with Yakumo and Sasuke, with the group splitting up as soon as they stepped outside. Yakumo quickly made her way towards Naruto, while Sasuke distanced himself from everyone, leaving Ino standing by herself, before she rejoined the bulk of the class. Perhaps the only one to notice other than Naruto, was the laziest individual in the class, but as it happened, he was too lazy to do anything about it. As the group made their way to the targets Naruto walked ahead and quickly made his way under the shade of a tree. Yakumo joined Naruto beside the tree, as Shino Aburame and the other students whose last names were at the start of the alphabet took their place along the field.
'So what do you plan to do today?' Asked Yakumo.
'I was actually thinking of sitting this one out.' Said Naruto, causing Yakumo to raise an eyebrow.
'Really?' Asked Yakumo.
'Really.' Said Naruto, causing Yakumo to smile.
'You are really hard to figure out sometimes.' Said Yakumo.
'It's part of my charm.' Said Naruto, causing Yakumo to let out a small giggle.
'Well, as charming as that may be, any hints?' Asked Yakumo, causing Naruto to smile.
'I see you've caught on to me not wanting to give away spoilers. Well, think of it like this, when you start to cut into something, you need to put things on the edges to hold everything from collapsing in on you. Even the sharpest knife can get lost inside something without anchors.' Said Naruto.
'So what am I?' Asked Yakumo.
'Now that would be a spoiler, but I think you know.' Said Naruto with a wink.
'Now if we can have the last four, Naruto, Yakumo, care to join us?' Asked Iruka.
'I don't feel like it today Iruka-Sensei, besides, I don't want to steal the show again, it's only fair someone else gets to do it today.' Said Naruto, with Yakumo nodding.
'Uh, okay then.' Said Iruka, before turning to Ino and Sasuke.
'You can take you turns now then.' Said Iruka.
Sasuke gave a snort and threw a handful of shuriken out with a quick flourish, before following up with kunai, landing six perfect bullseyes, getting a round of awed gasps. While Sasuke basked in the moment of acknowledgement before walking away, he turned back when he heard another round of gasps. Ino had, much to the surprise of many, thrown four perfect bullseyes, but had pierced four kunai against the centre with her kunai.
'Oh yeah! Who's awesome now?' Cheered Ino, before giving a grin, puffing out her chest.
'I guess my modesty is catching on.' Said Naruto in amusement, causing a few people to look between the two.
'Who needs modesty when you are awesome?' Retorted Ino.
'So what, now we have Naruto and a female Naruto?' Asked Kiba.
'Hmm, that's not a bad idea Kiba. The world could use more Naruto.' Said Naruto seriously.
'That was a joke!' Exclaimed Kiba.
-line break-
As class wrapped up for the day, students started to trickle out. Naruto whispered something to Yakumo and went to say something to Sasuke. Yakumo started to make her way home, only to feel that she was being followed. After a few more steps taking her out of eyesight of the academy, Yakumo's stalkers emerged.
'You stay away from Sasuke! It's bad enough we can't get a seat next to him anymore, but you're spending too much time with him. We saw him walk you home yesterday.' Said one of the girls from their class.
'You make it sound like I'm going after Sasuke. Sasuke is spending time with me because we are both friends with Naruto.' Said Yakumo.
'As if we'd believe that, you are clearly using that as an excuse to get closer to Sasuke. Who would want to be friends with that loser?' Retorted another girl, causing Yakumo's pale face to crinkle in slight anger.
'Is that so?' Asked Yakumo, as the girl started to crowd her.
'Yeah, so back off, or we will make you.' Said the lead girl in what she thought was an ominous tone.
'Y-you shouldn't be mean to Yakumo.' Said a new voice, causing the girls to startle, before noticing who it was.
'What do you want? Go mind your own business.' Said the lead girl.
'This is my business. You are bullying Yakumo.' Said Hinata, walking over to the group, a small amount of confidence in her gait.
'Well what are you going to do about it then? You can't even stand up for yourself, you're a loser too, just like that other loser.' Said the lead bully, before a little crack went off in Hinata's mind.
'Eight Trigrams: Air Palm.' Said Hinata, letting loose a small blast of wind which pushed the girls back and sent them all on their bottoms.
'Y-you shouldn't bully others.' Said Hinata, glaring at the three with her best glare, which was almost cute, if it hadn't been preceded by an attack that knocked the wind out of three people.
The three scampered up and ran away, leaving Hinata and Yakumo alone.
'Are you okay?' Asked Hinata.
'Yes. Thank you for your assistance.' Said Yakumo.
'Someone who doesn't stand up to bullies is just as bad as the bullies themselves.' Said Hinata, causing Yakumo to smile.
'I guess Naruto's words are catching on.' Said Yakumo, causing Hinata to blush.
'I'm Yakumo by the way.' Said Yakumo.
'I know, I mean, I am Hinata, nice to meet you.' Said Hinata.
'Do you want me to walk you home, they might come back?' Asked Hinata.
'I would like that.' Said Yakumo, to which Hinata nodded, coming to stand next to Yakumo, before the two walked off.
'Hmm, maybe the world does need more Naruto after all.' Said Naruto.
-line break-
That evening, Danzo was sitting in his office in his personal section of Root, only to sense someone approaching him.
'It has only been three days, don't tell me you are bored with the academy already.' Said Danzo.
'Not even close, I'm having lots of fun, but I need your help.' Said Naruto, exiting the shadows and being dimly illuminated by the limited light in what was otherwise a cave.
'With?' Asked Danzo.
'Teach me how to make clones.' Said Naruto.
'I know just the type.' Said Danzo.