Shada was running through the street, trying to catch up to Hinata, a piece of toast in his mouth. People stared, but it was probably due to his obvious rushing more than his appearance these days. After all, people had gotten used to seeing him around the village when he was still a toddler, though some people still asked if he was wearing makeup.
Like every member of the Aru Clan, Shada had a strange appearance when compared to the average person. His shoulder-length hair was jet black and the skin around his eyes was just as dark, a side effect of the Arukra. He was tall for his age and wore a black bandanna that his hair flowed out from under in the back.
Shada's irises were black, and his clothes were black to match. Speaking of which, his choice of ninja clothing was also the traditional shinobi style, being tighter around the lower legs and forearms while the rest was somewhat baggy in order to allow free movement. His shirt opened up in the front like a robe and was tucked into the waist.
Shada normally went to the academy with Hinata, and he would have gone with her this morning, but…
"Damn it! Why'd I have to sleep in so late?!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA!"
"Shut up! Ah, and I even had to send her on ahead or she'd be late too!"
"NARUTO!"
"Wait, Naruto? Oh no-"
"Oof!" Shada let out as he was tackled off of the road and into a side alley by a blond, black, and orange blur.
"Hey, what's the big idea!?" Shada cried as he sat up before a hand clamped over his mouth.
"Shh!" the owner of said hand hushed Shada while holding a finger over his own lips.
The boy appeared to be only a little younger than Shada, if at all. He had spiky blond hair, a black t-shirt, and orange jumpsuit pants. An orange jumpsuit jacket matching the pants was tied around his waist and a pair of green goggles was resting on his forehead. His piercing blue eyes held a devilish streak in them as he crouched in front of Shada and looked back at the alley entrance.
He had three whisker-like markings on each cheek. This meant that he must be the child of a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, according to the Aru scrolls on the Nine-Tails and the effect it had on its Jinchuriki. Of course, he was forbidden from speaking of this to anyone, especially the boy himself; Naruto Uzumaki. And by Bakuda himself, no less, though Shada wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to obey that rule.
Shada soon noticed the sounds of what seemed to be some people angrily searching for Naruto. After a few seconds, the sounds moved away, and Shada was released.
"That was too easy," Naruto said as he pulled his hand away from Shada's mouth.
"Were you trying to get away from someone?" Shada asked.
"Yeah, some guys were chasing me because I painted on all the faces of the Hokage monument," Naruto said with a devilish grin.
"What!?" Shada exclaimed with amazement, "You managed to do that in front of the entire village and got away?"
He couldn't believe it. You could see those things from anywhere in the village. How did Naruto, the class idiot, pull it off?
Naruto gained a cocky grin as he began blushing and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just that amazing," Naruto said smugly before stopping and staring at Shada's face. "Hey, what are you doing out here, Shada? You've never skipped class before."
"Just running late today," Shada answered with an embarrassed chuckle. It was a bit humiliating to have Naruto of all people call him out on being out of class.
"Naruto!" an angry voice growled out.
"AH!" Shada and Naruto cried out together as they spun to face the entrance to the alley.
A man was standing there, trapping them in the dead end. He had brown hair put up in a spiky ponytail and a deep scar going across his face so that it crossed his nose. He wore the Leaf Village standard Chunin uniform and had a Leaf Village headband as well.
"Where'd you come from, Iruka-sensei!? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked loudly, visibly annoyed at getting caught.
"No, what are you doing here?" Iruka practically growled while pointing a finger at Naruto. "You're both supposed to be in class!"
-o-
Shada was now standing in front of the classroom next to Naruto, who was tied up and sitting on his butt with his jacket now on properly. Shada had explained to Iruka that he had simply been running late due to sleeping in, nothing more.
Iruka had accepted Shada's apology, though it still earned Shada a reading assignment on kunai throwing angles.
"I'm at the end of my rope here, Naruto," Iruka chastised the hyper blond while Shada took his seat next to his sister.
"You failed the graduation test last time, and the time before that," Iruka continued as he glared at him, "Tomorrow you've got another chance, and you're messing up again!"
"Hmph!" Naruto huffed while turning his head defiantly.
This only served to irk Iruka, but he simply took a deep breath and calmed himself before speaking.
"Now, since Naruto missed it, the whole class will once again go over the Transformation Jutsu," he announced sharply.
The entire class, including Shada, groaned, with the exception of the resident cool kid, Sasuke Uchiha.
-o-
Soon enough, the entire class was lined up in the front of the room. Sakura Haruno, a girl wearing a red dress and a red ribbon in her hair, had stepped forward. Sakura had jade eyes, long pink hair, and a large forehead.
"Alright, Sakura here; let's do it," she said, throwing up a hand sign. "Transform."
"A shame I already know this Jutsu. I'd like to copy something new one of these days. Hiashi is always so careful about what I see in the compound."
In a puff of smoke, Sakura suddenly turned into an exact replica of Iruka, still in the same stance.
"Transformed into me," Iruka said. "Good."
Sakura transformed back and began cheering while jumping up and down with a light blush on her cheeks.
"Yes! I did it!" she cried. "Yeah! Yes!"
Suddenly, she turned to Sasuke Uchiha, a boy with onyx eyes and black hair. He seemed to be in a bad mood by the way he glared at everything. Shada had to fight not to laugh when Bakuda compared his hair shape to that of a duck's butt when they first met as little kids.
"Sasuke, did you see that!?" she cried.
Sasuke made no response and ignored her.
"Really friendly today, huh?" Shada said, nudging Naruto and nodding his head towards Sasuke. "He didn't even scoff. Progress."
"Man, why's he always like that? The big know-it-all, acting all tough, like he's better than everyone," Naruto started complaining as Iruka called Sasuke's name, causing him to step forth.
Sasuke quickly threw up a hand sign and transformed into Iruka as well, using the Jutsu much faster than Sakura. In fact, Iruka hadn't even finished writing on his clipboard before Sasuke had transformed.
When Iruka looked up, he noticed the exact copy of himself already waiting there, which seemed to be a bit of a surprise to him.
"Uh… good," he blinked, quickly marking down more notes.
Sasuke changed back and walked away without a word.
"Next; Shada Aru," Iruka said.
Shada just stepped forward, threw up a hand sign, and transformed into an exact replica of Iruka, same as everyone else.
Iruka smiled and nodded. "I see. Excellent work, Shada."
Shada grinned and walked over to join Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura seemed to glance at him only momentarily before smiling at Sasuke again, and Sasuke ignored them both.
"Next," Iruka continued, "Naruto Uzumaki."
Shada turned to see Naruto standing between two other students in line. One of them was Ino Yamanaka, one of the two girls who clashed with him and bullied Naruto the most (Sakura being the other).
Ino had long, platinum blond hair put up in a ponytail while some was hanging out next to her right eye. She had blue eyes with no irises and wore a dark purple outfit. Her thighs and belly were wrapped in training wraps and her forearms had arm warmers over them.
The other kid was Shikamaru Nara. He had black hair put up into a spiky ponytail and wore a gray jacket over a mesh ninja shirt. He had his hands jammed into the pockets of his dark brown pants and he appeared to be both bored and annoyed.
"This is a total waste of time, Naruto," Shikamaru complained, closing his eyes and tilting his head back lazily.
"We always pay for your screw ups!" Ino spat in agreement, glaring a hole into the side of her fellow blond's head.
"Like I care," Naruto shot back, not even bothering to look at them.
When Naruto began to step forward with another devilish grin, Shada noticed that Hinata had a small blush and a smile on her face as well. She also tapped her fingers together shyly.
"Poor sis, always too scared to talk to her crush. At least she's hung out with us a few times, so Naruto at least knows her. Otherwise, I think she might have kept herself practically invisible to him."
Hinata and Shada were very close, and Naruto often came up in their conversations. Shada was the only one Hinata was willing to openly confide in about her feelings for Naruto, and Shada had always cheered her on and tried to help her work up the courage to ask him out herself as best as he could. Since he was pretty good friends with Naruto, he also kept getting them both to hang out with him at the same time, so they learned more about each other (even if he had to third wheel them).
Even still, Hinata was too shy to ask him out. So, Naruto remained her object of affection from afar. Shada felt for his sister, but there was nothing more he could do until she gained enough courage.
Suddenly, Naruto threw up a hand sign and a large amount of chakra flowed out of him.
"Impressive, but wasteful."
"That's not the same Jutsu… it's similar, but the chakra weaving is a bit different."
"Good job. Your chakra reading is improving. You're recognizing patterns in chakra weaving, the first step towards predicting a Jutsu before it's finished."
"Thanks. Now let's see what Naruto is planning… Oh wait, I know this technique too. Naruto's signature move."
"Transform!" Naruto said as his chakra suddenly caused an explosion of smoke, only to reveal a fully nude woman.
The woman's body was extremely voluptuous and erotic. She had very long blond hair put up in pigtails, piercing blue eyes, and whisker marks resembling those of normal Naruto. On top of all of that, she had a magnetically sexual aura about her, drawing in the eyes of others even easier than a gorgeous naked woman should've, and it seemed more effective depending on a Mizuki of attraction and chakra level.
When she blew their teacher a kiss, Iruka's nose began to bleed as he fell down from shock, and most of the class looked on in shock as well. Naruto simply changed back and started laughing loudly, regretting nothing.
"Gotcha!" he cried, pointing at Iruka. "That's my Sexy Jutsu!"
"CUT THE STUPID TRICKS!" Iruka roared after quickly getting up and pushing tissues into his nostrils, the rage evident on his face. "THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
Shada had to cover his mouth and hold his breath as he tried not to laugh.
"Naruto is my kind of genius."
"Wonderful. Like two idiots in a pod."
-o-
Shada walked through the streets of the Leaf Village beside his sister. The two were simply going for a walk to get out of the compound and away from Hiashi.
"Shada, how are you feeling about the graduation test?" Hinata asked in her soft, quiet voice. She had the pale Hyuga eyes, even paler skin, and wore a baggy, cream colored jacket to cover up as much as possible. Her dark indigo hair was cut short with the sides being a bit longer to perfectly frame her face. She was a good bit shorter than Shada and the two couldn't look less alike.
"I feel pretty good about it," Shada told her, "Like I'm about to finally be released from a prison cell."
"Will you really try to leave the compound then?" Hinata questioned her brother, worry etching her voice even more than normal.
"I have to," Shada glanced over to her. "I've got all these talents; none of which are from any Hyuga DNA in my blood. I'm an Aru, like it or not. You and Hanabi are my sisters, but Hiashi will never be my father; I'm tired of living under his thumb. The Hokage will back me on it. I mean, I do technically own all Aru estate in and out of the village, and yet I'm just asking to be able to live in our village home. Why say no?"
Hinata nodded, then sighed.
"What's up, Hinata?" Shada asked, looking down at her with concern. "You seem pretty down."
"Oh, it's nothing, just…" Hinata tried to explain her way out of Shada's question, but then she seemed to admit defeat as she let out another sigh. "I'm just a little sad you'll be leaving, is all."
Shada nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "You'll do fine. You've come so far in training with me, and you've helped me improve too. The clan has to see that. And I won't be far; you'll be welcome anytime. I'll even get you a key. Hanabi too."
"But-"
"No buts, Hinata," Shada interrupted. "I know it's scary and you might feel sad, but it's gotta be done. We both know it's only a matter of time before something between me and Hiashi explodes."
Hinata seemed to understand as she gave a sad smile and nodded to her brother.
-o-
The next day, Shada stepped out of the building and walked through the crowd of delighted students and parents. The test had ended.
"Shada!"
He turned to see Ko, a branch member of the Hyuga family and the caretaker of Hinata, standing next to Hinata herself. He had a rounded, babyish face, and the long black hair and pale eyes and skin of the Hyuga.
"It's time to go home," Ko said.
Shada nodded until he heard two mothers angrily whispering to each other.
"There; you see him?" the first mom asked the second.
"It's that boy," the second mom responded. "I heard he's the only one who failed."
Shada turned to see the mothers and then followed their eyes to find out who they were talking about… only to see Naruto sitting on the tree swing in front of the academy all alone.
"Not this again."
Shada actually knew why Naruto was treated so poorly by the older villagers, thanks to Bakuda, and he hated it with a passion. It wasn't his fault! In fact, he was more of a victim than anyone!
"Hmph. Well, it serves him right," mom one continued.
"Just imagine what would happen if he became a ninja," mom two stated. "I mean, he's the boy who-"
"Sh!" mom one interrupted. "We're not allowed to talk about that!"
Shada walked up to them and tapped them both on their shoulders, earning their attention.
"Shut up," he hissed. "Stop talking about Naruto. And if I remember correctly, the punishment for speaking this stuff out loud is death, is it not? So should I just go get Lord Third now?"
Shada stared them down, and the women seemed to know enough to shut up just then as they grabbed their respective children and quickly left. Of course, Shada knew it wasn't a serious threat, but they sure didn't.
"You really shouldn't defend that boy in public," Ko stated as he stepped up beside Shada. "The whole village will turn against you."
"I don't care," Shada huffed. "Naruto has been friendly to me so far. He's never done anything worse than pull a few pranks, so why do people hate him so much? They treat him like a demon, Ko, and he's not one, because that isn't how it works. I know what he actually is."
Ko gave a defeated sigh. He and several of the older Hyuga already knew that Shada had figured it out years ago. He had insider information, after all.
"Please Shada, we're still not allowed to talk about it," Ko whispered, exasperated from dealing with the young Aru already.
Shada just rolled his eyes and turned back to where Naruto had been sitting to see the swing now empty. Ignoring Ko, he jumped up to the roof of the academy and began jumping from roof to roof, heading back to the Hyuga compound by himself so he could cool off.
-o-
It was late at night. Shada was lying in his bed, contemplating how everyone had treated Naruto.
"Judging him to be a monster just because he's locking one up," he quietly fumed. "The Nine-Tails is the only demon that the current Leaf has ever really dealt with besides you, Bakuda, so I get why they dislike the Tailed-Beasts, but this is ridiculous. How stupid do they have to be to think he and the demon are the same? One is not the other, one is trapped in the other. Morons."
"Well, to be fair, they've never really dealt with me either. In fact, if that night weren't the night of my transfer to you, then the majority of the Leaf shinobi would have seen me for the first time."
"Because my grandfather would have released you from your seal, right?"
"Exactly. I would have beaten down the Nine-Tails myself if I had to… although I doubt it would have been very easy. Kurama is no slouch, even when compared to me. He has the second most chakra of all the Tailed-Beasts next to myself, and he may be the closest thing I have to an equal in combat skill."
"Well, that doesn't matter. The Nine-Tails chose the perfect time to attack, completely avoiding a fight with you."
"That he did…"
"Yeah-wait, his name is Kurama?"
"SHADA!" Hinata screamed out.
Shada's door slammed open as he shot out of his bed.
"Hinata!? What's going on?" Shada questioned, bewildered by the sudden intrusion.
Hinata was panting and had a worried look on her face as she stood in his doorway.
"Please summon Omaki right away!" she pleaded.
Without question, Shada bit his right thumb hard enough to draw blood. He quickly formed hand signs, then slammed his right hand to the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted.
Shada's chakra dropped a great deal, but thanks to the chakra control the Hyuga had hammered into him, he just barely managed to pull it off. The Summoning Jutsu was pretty difficult for his level, so he gained a bit of sweat thanks to the technique.
A small white wolf, roughly the size of a cat, had appeared before Shada's feet in a puff of smoke.
"Sup kid," the small wolf said in a voice like a fifty-year-old chain smoker. "What'd you call me for? I hope you have some meat for me."
"I'll bring you some soon," Shada said. "But first things first; Hinata, what do you need Omaki for?"
"Naruto has stolen the village's scroll of sealing, and father says it's a very serious crime," Hinata hurriedly explained. "Lord Hokage has sent out ninja to get both him and the scroll back. Please, we have to help him!"
"Seriously!?" Shada gawked "Naruto stole the scroll? No way! Something's not right here."
"How about we find the guy first, then try to figure out what's going on?" Omaki snorted.
"Good idea," Shada agreed, leaving the doorway. "Hinata, stay here; I can get away with this, but Hiashi would have your head if you snuck out. I'll get him, don't worry!"
Shada wasted no time opening his window and took off with Omaki leading the way.
"Wait, Shada; how will you track him without anything to smell!?" Hinata cried as they zipped off.
-o-
Shada followed Omaki through the woods, hopping from tree limb to tree limb.
"It's a good thing you told me this kid was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, otherwise I wouldn't know what to look for," Omaki piped up. "Lucky for you, every Jinchuriki always smells a bit like their demon."
"Yeah, no kidding," Shada managed out as he followed. "I guess I'll have to come up with an excuse to give to Hinata later about how you tracked him without any material with his scent."
"Good luck, kid," Omaki laughed. "I'm sure you're clever enough to handle it."
"Thanks," Shada responded with a chuckle.
Before long, Omaki came to a halt, Shada landing on the branch beside him.
"Look down there," Omaki pointed a paw out towards an orange clad figure on the ground.
Naruto was covered in dirt and sweat, panting heavily and sitting flat on his butt. An old shed was right behind him, and a giant scroll was strapped to his back. Another figure was also walking towards Naruto, and Shada recognized it to be Iruka.
Once Iruka reached Naruto, he loomed over him, gaining his attention, and said, "It's all over," with an evil 'I win' laugh.
Naruto just rubbed the back of his head and laughed, which seemed to confuse Iruka.
"Well, I'm gonna head back," Omaki yawned. "Later kid."
"Thanks, Omaki," Shada whispered as the tiny wolf disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Caught me already," Naruto said cheerfully. "Not bad. You're quick, Sensei. I only had time to learn one technique."
Iruka seemed to give Naruto a once over, a look of confused surprise very evident on his face.
"Listen Iruka-sensei!" Naruto suddenly burst out. "I'm gonna show you this amazing Jutsu and you're gonna let me graduate, then everything will be okay!"
"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Shada called out as he leapt over to stand beside Iruka and in front of Naruto, surprising them both.
"Shada?" Naruto questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you stole the scroll, so I came to find you before something really bad happened," Shada looked him over. "You'd better have a pretty good explanation, or else the villagers are gonna have your head; literally."
"But Mizuki-sensei told me all about how if we learn a Jutsu from this scroll, then we graduate!" Naruto defended himself.
"Mizuki-sensei? Why would he say that? That's not true, is it Iruka-sensei?" Shada asked and glanced at Iruka.
Mizuki was a Chunin academy instructor with long white hair and a smile that seemed a bit forced sometimes; He had helped Iruka run the graduation tests.
The gears in Shada's head turned, and soon enough, he came up with an answer.
"He really told you that, Naruto?" Iruka inquired.
"Uh, yeah, why?" Naruto seemed bewildered at the question.
"Naruto, you've been tricked!" Shada revealed. "Mizuki-sensei must be trying to get you killed, or maybe he's just trying to take the scroll for himself. Or both!"
"But he told me where to find the scroll and even showed me this training spot and everything!" Naruto gawked, shock evident on his face now as well.
"What!?" Iruka cried.
"Well, we need to leave," Shada said.
"TOO LATE!"
Suddenly, about a dozen kunai flew straight toward the group from the direction Shada had just come.
"LOOK OUT!" Iruka cried before shoving both Shada and Naruto out of the way.
Iruka was struck by one kunai in the leg, but he managed to dodge all the others by millimeters. However, his back had been forced against the wall of the shed.
"I see you found our little hideaway," the attacker's voice called out.
"So that's the way it is, huh?" Iruka asked. "I should have known."
Mizuki was crouching on a tree branch. He wore the basic Leaf Village Chunin uniform along with a dark blue bandanna with the Leaf forehead protector sewn onto the front. He also carried two giant shuriken on his back.
"Naruto!" Mizuki cried. "Give me the scroll, now!"
"Wait a minute!" Naruto looked around wildly, "What's going on here!?
"Naruto! Shada!" Iruka cried, pulling the kunai out of his leg. "Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden Jutsu that can put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, Naruto; all for his own power!"
"Naruto," Mizuki began with a smile. "Iruka's just trying to scare you 'cause he doesn't want you to have the scroll."
Naruto was taken aback by Mizuki's statement.
"Don't trust him, Naruto. Byakugan!" Shada said, throwing up a hand sign and activating his Byakugan. "Look at the way he's smirking. He's just screwing with your head."
The Byakugan was incredibly useful. Three-hundred-sixty degrees of x-ray vision and the ability to see chakra and chakra points. It even increased normal perception, letting you see things not just further away, through things, and in more directions, but also with a sharper and clearer view.
This allowed a user to use the Gentle Fist style, shooting small bursts of chakra in pinpoint spots, right on the chakra points, to shut down chakra flow and muscle movement. Shada had gotten very good at this, though neither his technique nor his Byakugan were quite mastered yet.
Mizuki smirked wider while Iruka shouted, "Stop lying, Mizuki! Don't let him trick you, Naruto!"
Mizuki then started laughing while Shada took the Gentle Fist stance.
"Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying," Mizuki called down from his branch.
"NO MIZUKI!" Iruka shouted, fear suddenly evident in his voice.
"Is this about the fox?" Shada asked Iruka, confusing Naruto. "'Cause if it is, I don't really care, and Naruto should probably know anyways."
"How did you know?" Iruka asked, clearly stunned.
"I figured it out years ago," Shada said with a shrug.
"Smart brat," Mizuki sneered. "But that only means that, just like everyone else, Shada has been lying to you your whole life, Naruto, since the decree twelve years ago."
"What decree?" Naruto asked.
"Everyone knows except you," Mizuki remarked.
"I don't know about everyone; maybe everyone who's at least old enough to remember the attack…" Shada said, trying to buy time to figure out an escape plan. "I mean, I've only known for a couple of years now, but I wasn't allowed to tell you, no matter how much I wanted to."
"Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now," Mizuki continued, ignoring Shada, "He'd do anything to shut me up!"
"What is this decree?" Naruto asked, and Shada could see fear on his face. "Why does everyone else know about it?"
"DON'T TELL HIM!" Iruka cried. "IT'S FORBIDDEN!"
"The decree is no one can tell you the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside you!" Mizuki bellowed with a harsh tone of hatred.
Naruto gasped in shock.
"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the Nine-Tailed Fox!" Mizuki professed.
It was at that moment when Shada started laughing, catching everyone off guard.
"Oh God, how did you ever make it to Chunin with brains like yours?" he laughed out. "Naruto may be the Nine-Tails's container, but that doesn't make him and the fox the same person!"
Shada then turned to Naruto.
"Don't worry, Naruto; you may have the fox in you, but you're still you," he smiled. "You basically just keep it locked up. You are two separate beings."
"H-how do you know!?" Naruto shouted.
Shada just grinned and winked. "I'll explain later. Just not here, in front of Mizuki. But trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
"Everyone in the village has been sneaking around and hiding things from you your whole life, Naruto," Mizuki continued. "Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt! Like they hated you for just being alive!"
"No!" Naruto shouted and Shada could sense his chakra surge with anger. "No, no, no, no!"
"Naruto!" Iruka cried out, the sadness evident in his voice.
"That's why you will never be accepted in this village!" Mizuki shot. "Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!"
Suddenly, Mizuki pulled one of the gigantic shuriken off of his back and started spinning it.
"Die, Naruto!" Mizuki roared before throwing the shuriken straight at him.
"Naruto, move!" Shada yelled, only for him to have to jump back to avoid the second shuriken, which would have intercepted his jump for Naruto, having been thrown at higher speed.
So, he was forced to dodge away from Naruto, and had to look up afterwards, expecting to see Naruto with a shuriken in him. He was shocked to instead see Naruto on his back, clutching the scroll, and Iruka over him, the shuriken in his back, right next to his spine. Luckily, the wound stayed shallow enough not to kill. Unluckily, it was still deep enough to seriously hinder Iruka.
"Iruka-sensei, are you alright!?" Shada panicked.
"I'm fine," Iruka croaked from where he stayed, shielding Naruto from danger.
Then he coughed up blood.
"But… why?" Naruto asked as some of the blood landed on his right cheek.
"Because we're the same," Iruka said. "When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there…
"My grades dropped. I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me, and to know my name!
"My schoolwork wasn't good enough to get their attention, so I did crazy things. And then I had to pay for it. It was hard."
Tears began to pour out of Iruka's eyes while Naruto stared up at him in obvious shock. Shada listened and watched, but with his Byakugan, he also kept his eyes on Mizuki.
"I know that's how you feel, Naruto," Iruka continued. "You feel lonely, and it hurts inside. And I could have been there for you more."
Shada thought about his treatment of Naruto then. Sure, he always got along with Naruto, he'd even call them friends, but… he never went out of his way to help or support him either, had he? Some friend he was, just laughing in class at Naruto's jokes and going home.
"I let you down," Iruka choked out. "I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that."
Mizuki cackled before shouting, "Don't make me laugh! Iruka always hated you! He was orphaned because the Nine-Tailed Fox killed his parents, and that beast is now inside you. He'd say anything to get the scroll from you!"
"I was orphaned because of the Fox, too," Shada spoke up. "If anything, I'm grateful for Naruto. Without him, that thing would still be rampaging. I mean, that's kind of how seals work."
"Oh please, you're only saying that because you want those Jutsu for yourself!" Mizuki brushed off his words.
"If I wanted them for myself, I'd just help Naruto run off with them and copy them off of him!"
Just then, Naruto bolted deeper into the forest.
"Naruto!" Iruka cried. "Narutoooooo!"
"You know, once he makes up his mind, nothing can change it," Mizuki said with a snide tone just before he began jumping from tree branch to tree branch in the same direction as Naruto.
"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei; I won't let Mizuki get that scroll!" Shada promised as he leapt into the branches to begin chasing after them.
Shada finally caught up with Naruto, only to see Iruka branch hopping with him. He inspected them both closely with his Byakugan and realized they were both transformations.
"Naruto!" the fake Iruka shouted. "Everything Mizuki said was a lie! Give me the scroll, hurry! He's coming after you to take it away!"
Suddenly, the fake Naruto launched himself at the fake Iruka, planting a fist and shoulder in his gut. He then launched him towards the forest floor before following and sitting down in front of a tree as he took off the scroll and set it beside him.
"It can't be," the fake Iruka blurted out as Shada stopped on a tree branch above them. "How did you know… Naruto? How did you know-"
The fake Iruka changed into Mizuki in a cloud of smoke.
"-that it was me and not Iruka!?"
The fake Naruto chuckled before changing into Iruka in a cloud of smoke while the scroll changed into a log.
"Because I'm Iruka," Iruka smiled.
Mizuki stood up and smirked back.
"You're a fool," he said. "Why are you protecting that freak!? He's the one that wiped out your family!"
Just then, Shada noticed Naruto sitting down behind a tree and holding onto the scroll. Gotta love that x-ray vision.
"I don't care what you say," Iruka stated with his own smirk. "You're not getting your hands on that scroll!"
Just then, he noticed there was another figure not too far behind him. Hinata had just entered his visual range. He knew that she knew it too, given her nod as she continued to approach him. She had followed him after all. So there was a good chance that she heard what Mizuki had said...
"As if you could stop me," Mizuki spat. "Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me!"
"How's that?" Iruka asked with a scowl.
"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance," Mizuki laughed with dark delight. "That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything!"
For a moment, Iruka stayed silent, but then he said, "You're right…"
"WHAT!?"
"Wait just a moment, Shada. Don't make hasty assumptions."
"KIND OF HARD TO CALL IT HASTY, BAKUDA!"
Shada saw Naruto tighten his grip on the scroll and gain a hurt look. Hinata actually looked… mad? No, she looked utterly betrayed and downright pissed. That was a shock.
"Her crush is a strong one."
"That is how beasts are," Iruka shrugged.
Naruto's look became one of stunned confusion, as did Hinata's. If Shada was being honest, he probably looked the same.
"But that's not who Naruto is," Iruka continued. "He's nothing like that. Naruto's one of a kind. Works hard, puts his whole heart into it.
"Sure, he messes up sometimes, and everyone jumps on him. But his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast.
"So you're wrong; he's nothing like the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"
Shada saw Naruto begin to weep and smiled… until Mizuki reached for a kunai.
"You really believe that drivel?" Mizuki asked as he held the blade. "Iruka, I was gonna save you for later, but I changed my mind."
Shada quietly landed behind him and used the Gentle Fist style Hiashi had been teaching him to strike a chakra point in his hand, rendering it useless and forcing him to drop the kunai knife.
"You should really keep your guard up," Shada narrowed his eyes as he took the stance Hiashi had shown him for a special Gentle Fist attack. "Because now you're in range."
Shada was crouched with one arm in front of him and the other behind him, both hands kept flat and straight with the arms. While he did this, Hinata landed next to Iruka to bandage him up.
"Gentle Fist Art; Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!" Shada shouted.
Mizuki spun around just in time for Shada to strike his first two chakra points.
"Two palms!" Shada cried before continuing. "Four palms!"
Shada began striking every chakra point he could see, starting with points that slowed him down the most, causing Mizuki's body to slowly shut down while also preventing him from escaping or countering.
"Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!"
Mizuki had started coughing blood and crying out in extreme pain, but Shada wasn't quite finished. He struck his palms against Mizuki's chest for the final two hits.
"Sixty-four palms!"
Mizuki landed on the ground right in front of Iruka and Hinata.
"I may not be a master of that Jutsu yet, but it's still enough to take you down," Shada mocked. He had missed some, and simply hadn't properly closed a few others.
"Oh really?" Mizuki growled out angrily as he slowly struggled to get to his feet.
"I'm starting to get tired from all of this chakra use. But I won't let Mizuki get away with this!"
"Hey!"
Mizuki, Iruka, and Shada all turned to see Naruto with a deadly look on his face, the scroll laying down behind him.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei or my friends… I'll kill you!"
"Friends, huh? I like the sound of that… I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought so."
"Shada Aru and Naruto Uzumaki; the demons of the Leaf! Has a nice ring to it."
"Such big words," Mizuki wheezed out as he began to recover from Shada's earlier attack. "I could completely destroy you in a single move!"
"Hinata, I'm gonna need your help," Shada hurriedly spoke, quickly moving around him to stand between Iruka and Mizuki.
"Right!" Hinata gave a curt nod, her face hardening as her Byakugan activated and she joined him at his side.
Naruto put one hand up to stop them. "No. I've got this."
He then threw his hands up in a strange sign, crossing two fingers from each hand to make a plus sign.
"If you think it's just 'big words', then take your best shot, fool," Naruto growled with a dark look. "I'll give it back to you a thousand-fold!"
"Let's see you try!" Mizuki cried angrily. "Show me what you can do, Nine-Tailed Fox!"
"For the last time, you idiot," Shada grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance at Mizuki's stupidity. "He's not the Fox; he just contains the Fox. Say it with me; con-tains."
"Shut it, brat!" Mizuki shouted as he slowly raised his arms to try and make a sign. "It's time for all of you to die!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto suddenly shouted.
Luckily, Shada saw Naruto perform this new Jutsu, creating a thousand of himself in one go and giving Shada something new to practice.
"A thousand solid clones…" Shada said in awe. "That's… amazing!"
"N-Naruto… you really are amazing…" Hinata whispered.
Iruka stared in shock and Mizuki looked around him in fear as he was now surrounded. All of the Naruto's began mocking him by saying things like "Over here!" or "No, this way!", causing Mizuki to become not only scared, but confused.
"If you're not coming, then we're gonna come after you!" one of the clones threatened.
Mizuki simply screamed as the army of Naruto's dove in and began pummeling him. Shada deactivated his Byakugan and sat down beside Iruka to enjoy the show, Hinata smiling as she too deactivated her Dojutsu and went back to bandaging Iruka.
-o-
Once dawn came, Mizuki was battered, bloodied, and bruised while none of the three Genin had a scratch on them. Naruto walked over to his two comrades.
"Ya know… I'm glad to be your friend," Shada said with a smile. "You're a lot stronger than people give you credit for."
"Yeah, ya know, all in a day's work for a future Hokage," Naruto laughed with a goofy smile.
"Ha!" Shada cried out. "Yeah, just be glad you made friends with a genius like me to carry a dummy like you."
Naruto glared at him while Shada just laughed.
"Relax, relax, I'm joking man! Come on, Hinata, help me out!" Shada continued laughing.
"Um, I don't, uh…" Hinata was panicking, clearly flustered.
"Hey Naruto, come here a minute and close your eyes," Iruka spoke up. "There's something I wanna give you."
Naruto did as he was told, and Shada smiled as Iruka took off Naruto's goggles and replaced them with his own headband.
"Sensei, how much longer?" Naruto whined as Iruka finished tying up the back.
"Alright," Iruka smiled. "You can open your eyes now."
Naruto opened his eyes and stared at Iruka's bare forehead for a while.
"Congratulations," Iruka declared. "You graduate!"
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"And to celebrate, I have a surprise," Iruka then added. "We're going out for ramen tonight! All of us!"
Naruto closed his mouth and began to smile as tears came out of his eyes.
"Huh?" Iruka paused as Naruto began to twitch, clearly confused by the reaction.
"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto suddenly shouted in joy as he tackled Iruka to the ground and began hugging him.
"Hey, that hurts!" Iruka yelped with laughter in his voice while Naruto laughed and wept from joy. "Ow, cut it out! Naruto!"
Hinata seemed to beam at this display. "Oh, Naruto," she sighed to herself happily.
Shada continued to smile as well until he realized something.
"So, uh… who's gonna explain this to the Hokage?" Shada asked the others, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and groan in unison.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"