"Oh yeah," Naruto announced to the class with a large smile, "for your next test the goal is to kill me."
A mixture of "What?!" and "How?!" and "That's not possible!?" filled the classroom. That was not a doable test for these would be genin. Naruto might technically only be a Genin, but that's because he never finished the Chunin Exam.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Don't be like that. You'll do it in teams of three." All seven of his clones hold up three fingers, "and these clones are only going to use physical attacks. While you are not limited to what you're able to do. It will be easy."
While his last heat was horrendous, it only took him out for a day. The next morning he was back to normal. Even better than normal, Naruto's mark was almost fully healed. There was barely any of the previous alpha's venom active inside him. It had stayed in the dormant state with no signs of becoming its former glory.
Ameno diagnosed him as 'lucky to be alive.'
Which was much better than Tsunade's diagnosis of 'being a dumb bitch.'
It didn't matter, Naruto still had a class to teach.
They were in the outdoor tournament area, split into seven Teams of 3. The assignment for their test was easy. The goal was to destroy one of Naruto's clones. Each clone was restricted to only using taijutsu, but they wouldn't know it was mostly defensive maneuvers. The children were not restricted in any way, well, besides the fact they had to use teamwork.
Once they completed this task, they would fill out the forms as if it were a real mission, and submit that to Koji. So they got an idea on how real world missions work. It's not all fun and kunai.
A few teams understood the power of teamwork faster than others. They had destroyed Naruto's clones in record times. Leaving only five teams remaining.
A kunai flung towards Naruto's head - stopped by sand.
"Hey, not fair!" The kid yelled, "You're ruining our midterm!"
"Midterm?" The Kazekage asked.
"Yeah, for the midterm they have to kill me." Naruto ignored the students to talk to his boyfriend.
"Kill you?" They had outlawed tests like this for academy students.
"Oh! I'm a clone. Don't worry." the omega twirled in place.
"Ugh, does this mean we failed?" The student complained.
"What? We can't fail." Another student chimed in.
"The old man ruined our test."
The 'old man' was seventeen years old, "Test?"
"Yeah, lov-Lord Gaara," The first time Naruto had ever used that phrase, "a test. They are supposed to destroy my shadow clone in a team of three."
"That's Lord Gaara?! Like the Kazekage?!" The child asked.
"Yes," this was the reason Gaara didn't like to walk around without his robes on. They were another extension of him, like his sand, designed to protect him. People, his people, would be able recognize the authority of the Kage position and forget that Gaara was even the one who held it.
"Like for real?"
Naruto laughed, "Yes, that is the Kazekage. He's here visiting today, because-?
"I wanted to see how the kids' midterms were going." The real reason is Gaara knew that his time with Naruto was limited, and a meeting was canceled, so he thought of inviting the blonde to lunch.
"Oh!" Naruto smiled, pointed to the bleachers, "You can sit over there and watch. But you can't interfere any more. You gotta give them a fair chance."
"You can't talk to the Kazekage like that." the young boy said, very sternly.
"I can't?" Naruto laughed.
"Yeah… he's very strong."
"Oh, is he now?"
"Yeah! He's the strongest in the village. I bet he could kick your ass."
"Language." Naruto scolded, "and you really think so?"
Gaara didn't understand what Naruto was doing, "you shouldn't threaten our Leaf shinobi. They are here to help us."
Naruto just laughed, "It's fine, lov-Lord Gaara. He's just excited."
Hm.
"How about this if you three can pass this test, I'll see if we can convince Lord Gaara to show you what he's capable of." Naruto looked over at him expectantly.
"Really? You mean it?" The kid looked over too.
Gaara shrugged his shoulders in approval. This wasn't how he was expecting to spend his lunch break, but the kids seemed to enjoy the idea. It might help them to see how real shinobi fight.
Naruto smiled, "Good. Now come on, your almost trailing behind -
Poof.
One of the other kids got Naruto when he wasn't paying attention.
"You really mean we can see you fight, right?!"
"If there's time today. I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind being my partner." He still had to be back in the office.
The real Naruto, at least Gaara assumed was the real Naruto, walked up to their group, "Great job on passing guys. Go clean up and see Koji-sensei to submit your reports."
"Yes, sensei!" the one that actually got the winning point shouts. Already making their way back to the locker rooms.
"Lord Gaara, said if there's time today we get to see him fight."
"Yeah?" Naruto smiled, looking over to Gaara.
"It would be useful to see trained shinobi fight." Gaara let him know, "I still have a meeting in a few hours."
"Okay. I think there's only a few more teams that need to wrap up. So we should be able to fit in your schedule. Join me over at the bleachers while we wait."
"Sure." Gaara followed behind Naruto.
"Don't forget to submit your reports!" Naruto shouted at the kids running off to the locker rooms.
"Is it just like how you remember it?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm?"
"The school."
It somehow seemed brighter, and more full of life than Gaara remembered, "It's better."
"Stop being so cheesy." Naruto leaned back, "Why are you really here anyways?"
"I was going to take you to lunch."
"Oh, do you want to split mine with me while we wait?" He pulled it out of his pack.
It was a good sized bento, enough for two people to have a small portion. It was cutely decorated the same way he remembered his classmates having theirs done up. That type of meticulous preparation that only parents who loved their children, or wanted to show off, would do.
"It looks nice."
"Thank you. Ameno and Matsuri have been teaching me some stuff with it. Apparently there's this whole artform to making lunch."
"You seem to be doing better," Gaara looked Naruto over.
"I told you my hea-" Naruto changed the words to, "-times were short but intense."
"That wasn't the type of 'intense' I was expecting."
"Sorry to disappoint." the omega scowled.
"You could never-
Naruto crossed his arms, "Don't lie, you were hoping for an all day fuc-fun fest."
"I wouldn't be opposed, but no, I just felt unprepared. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't expecting you to ever have to see me like that." Naruto kept his eyes focused on the food between them.
"Why not? I'm your," they were still in public, even if they were on the bleachers far away from others, "boyfriend after all."
Naruto smiled at that word, "Yeah, but-
"So, you should have come to me if they were like that. I could have helped."
"You saw there wasn't much for you to do. I throw up, pass out, then throw up again. Sometimes Kyuubi taunts me about it. You would have gotten bored of that." Naruto meant 'annoyed at him,' "Besides I told you, it's getting better. A few more and I'll probably be back to normal."
"Do you at least have someone else to watch over you? Ms Haruno or Lady Tsunade? Or even Lord Jiraya? It's dangerous for you to be like that."
"Pervy Sage usually leaves me to my own devices. He makes sure he's around so no one bothers me, but he doesn't help much besides that."
"Your next one, I want you to come to me." Gaara said firmly.
"It will be the same as the last one, alpha."
"That's why I want you to come to me. You need someone to take care of you."
"I'm fine on my own."
"Why can't you let me be your alpha?" Gaara wasn't angry, he was disappointed, which was worse.
Naruto nervously laughed, "You are."
"You don't let me provide for you. It's my job to make sure you're alright."
"I don't want to be someone's job." Naruto had already asked for too much help from Gaara, if he kept asking he's afraid of what their relationship would become.
"Job was a bad word, but you know what I mean."
"I might not even live here the next time I have one." They were irregular, and apparently now he didn't get warning signs.
"Write in a request, I'll set up the arrangements." Gaara said, "Or just show up, and I'll figure it out after it's over."
"I can't ask you to do that."
"I'm asking you." Gaara didn't want to say, "The same people who killed me earlier this year are hunting you. You're so vulnerable in that state. You couldn't drink a glass of water by yourself. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
Naruto almost removed the seal on Kyuubi when they took away Gaara. If it weren't for Kakashi's guidance he would have. It was only a miracle that Gaara was sitting here with him now.
"I guess- I guess I can try."
"Okay." Gaara knew that was all he could ask for.
Naruto took a big bite of the lunch, trying to change the subject, "I can't believe my time's almost up."
"There's two months left." Gaara placed his hand on Naruto's thigh.
"Yeah… I think I'll miss it though. I liked teaching a lot more than I thought."
Gaara smiled, "I'm glad."
"It's, like, really rewarding to watch them grow and learn."
"They seem to respect you." Gaara knew he couldn't invite Naruto back right away. Sunagakure needed a med-nin to teach next. At least this was hope for the future of another potential long mission to keep them close.
"That's what Ameno said too, but if you saw them in the classroom, you might change your mind. They are a bunch of restless kids."
"I'm sure they're not as bad as you think."
The two of them share lunch together watching the final students finish up their exams. Both completely didn't care about how they looked to outsiders. Just like two people madly in love.
The last of the kids finished up with enough time for Gaara and Naruto to have their Spar. Some of the other teachers joined in, to watch the spectacle. Most haven't seen the extent of Naruto's abilities. And have seen too much of the extent of Gaara's.
They stand in the gym's arena. A rounded circle, with painted lines over compacted sand. It was definitely a home field advantage for Gaara. The teachers started taking bets among themselves.
"It's been awhile since we've done something like this." Naruto stretched.
Gaara stood perfectly still, as his fox circled around him. Naruto would make the first move, he always does. Gaara's more of a reactionary fighter.
"I can't believe the kids convinced you to do this."
Gaara doesn't even turn his head, he doesn't need to, he can feel each of Naruto's movements, "I had the time today."
Naruto threw three kunai at Gaara's back, knowing it would be stopped by sand. He wanted to see how it stopped. If it came from the gourd, he knew the field was still semi-safe. If it came from the ground, he knew that he had to watch his step.
From the ground.
Naruto's fucked.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Starting off strong was the only way he might have a chance. one hundred clones should do it, he'd attack Gaara from all sides and one of them would have to make it through. They all dog-piled onto Gaara's location.
A massive spiked sand barrier blocked them. Popping any that made contact. For each one that popped, Naruto made two more.
Gaara realized something. All of the clones knew that they were clones. Which allowed them to act more reckless. WIth this in mind, Gaara was almost 100% sure he's identified the real Naruto. The one that's a few from the back of the group.
The one that's now forming a rasengan.
That should have been the real hint. A small but powerful swirl of air was created into Naruto's hand. The Shadow Clones were just a distraction. They kept coming in every direction. If Gaara was going to focus on making a shield powerful enough to block Naruto's ultimate attack, he'd have to weaken other spots that would let the clones in.
It was a calculated risk, but a risk he'd have to take. All of his sand formed a wall ten feet thick in the most obvious blast zone. Thinning out to a couple of inches everywhere else. The clones were able to punch dents into the walls, but no further than that.
Naruto ran.
As soon as the spireling ball of air touched Gaara's shield, Naruto pulled back. It dissipated into nothingness and his bare hand struck instead. Gaara softened the area of impact. Swallowing Naruto whole into his sand.
The Konoha-nin was now rendered immoble.
Lord Gaara won.
Later in the classroom, the Kazekage walked in, "You let me win."
"I didn't let you win. I just… made a rule for myself." Naruto said. Finishing up some of the grading from the kids' fights. He needed to add specific notations to each student's report. While he could still remember them as separate events.
"What was this rule?"
"I couldn't break your shield."
"Why would you limit yourself?"
"The kids… Love. I don't think you realize this. The kids I teach, they don't know you… well, they don't know your past." Naruto explained, "most of them weren't alive for it. If they were, they definitely weren't conscious."
"Okay…?"
"You know what they do remember?"
Gaara tried to think of something, "No."
"They remember the Akatsuki attack earlier this year. They remember being saved by your Ultimate Defense. They still talk about it. Some even draw it…" Naruto looked for some of the children's drawings, "I can't take that from them."
"Oh." Gaara never thought about it. These kids only know the stories their parents tell. They didn't live through it.
"One day they might learn you are not completely unbreakable, it's not going to be from me. But right now they need you to be their unstoppable Kazekage." Naruto looked side to side, making sure they were alone, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Lunch was more eventful than Gaara set out for it to be.
Things with Naruto usually were.
