(AN: Welcome back all; here's another chapter I decided to write. Technically, it was originally going to be a part of chapter 1, but I decided to split it. Enjoy!)

When Sasuke stepped into his kitchen to grab breakfast, he walked into a mess. Initially, he planned to get something to drink, go train for an hour, and finally head to the academy, yet… "What is she doing?" His last remaining family member was sprawled out on her back atop the kitchen table, a bottle of sake clasped in one hand, dripping onto the floor. Looking around, he noted the food littering the kitchen and grimaced at the mess he'd have to clean up. Damned woman.

Briefly, Sasuke considered leaving the woman to her fate of an aching back and horrible hangover, but he caved and slowly struggled to help the woman off the table, practically dragging the woman to her room, and forcing a glass of water past her lips. It cut into his training time, but with the taijutsu spars today, he could at least get that training later. After unceremoniously leaving the woman tangled in her blankets, he moved back to his kitchen, throwing all the empty pans into the dishwasher and starting a load. He put the ingredients back in the fridge, but that was when he noticed a box with his name crudely draw onto a note. With a frown, he opened the box and noticed the ungodly amount of bacon, sausage, and eggs haphazardly thrown into it. It was… almost nice of the crazed woman. But the eggs looked weird. They were oddly brown and shimmering, almost crystalized, as if she had added the salt after the fact… He tried them, and promptly spat the egg clump out into the trash can. Desperately he looked around the kitchen once more, and sitting beside the black pepper was the offender.

"Can you not read when you're drunk?!" He raged into the hallway. He replaced the cap on the sugar, and sat it back in the cupboard above, angrily tossing the rest of the eggs into the trash can. He almost threw away the entirety of the lunch box until he noticed the red jewels that had been hidden under the container of eggs. As he stared at the small grape tomatoes, he couldn't help but whisper, "Why do you make it so hard…"

Naruto realized he was early for once as he stepped into the near empty classroom. He noticed a few of his fellow civilian students diligently studying or playing around in the back, while only Hinata from the Shinobi clans sat in the middle, reading a book.

"Morning guys!" He waved cheerfully at the ones in the back, ignoring their angry gazes. "Morning, Hinata!"

She stuttered something out to him, and he tried not to show his hurt feelings as the girl looked away, ignoring him. But that was fine. He was used to it at this point. He'd just have to make his next prank the biggest one yet. Then people would have no choice but to look at him. Though if he could beat Sasuke, that would be a great start.

He spent the rest of the morning working in his notebook, trying to think up his next prank, while simultaneously trying not to doze off. In the end, however, he passed out of his notes, not listening as Iruka droned on and on about some old clan or whatever it was.

"Sasuke! You're late!" Iruka shouted suddenly, snapping Naruto awake. In desperation he tried to look busy, only to realize a second later, it wasn't himself getting shouted at.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei." Sasuke had his head bowed as their teacher's head shrunk back to normal. "I had to help my cousin and lost track of time."

Cousin? Was that Nanashi? He wondered what the two of them had done.

"It's fine, Sasuke, this is the first time in a while I'll let it slide without a detention, but… hm, as punishment you can—Ah! You have to sit next to Naruto for the day."

Naruto blinked and tried to figure out how that was a punishment for Sasuke? Naruto was awesome! Anyone would be lucky to—Ah, who was he kidding? They were rivals, of course they didn't get along.

"Move over, dobe." His rival's stealth was amazing! Not nearly as good as his own, of course, but Naruto hadn't even heard the duck butt walk up to him.

"I got here first, teme, maybe don't be late next time!" Naruto shouted back.

"Quiet down!" Iruka's voice was deafening as he used his signature Big Head Jutsu.

"I want the window seat." Sasuke whispered in anger as he fell beside Naruto.

"Too bad." Naruto stuck his tongue out at the incensed boy. He liked the window seats just as much as the brunette.

"Dobe." The Uchiha hissed.

"Teme." Ooooh, he knew what he could do. "I'll tell you what, Sasuke. If you can beat me in a spar today, I'll give up the window seat forever."

"It's only a punishment for today, dobe. Plus, this is the only time I'm ever late. Not only that, but the teachers draw lots for us. So we might not even get paired up."

"Sounds like something a chicken would say." He had a gut feeling they would be fighting today. And his gut was never wrong! Believe it! "You can have the window seat when we come back in for the second half of class."

Sasuke grit his teeth at the blond's demands. But he held his hand out. With a grin, Naruto took the hand and shook it. The deal was on.

Nanashi had been correct. The second the first match had begun, Naruto had blitzed Sasuke, immediately gaining a point against the older boy after pushing him out of the ring. The second the next round had begun, however, Naruto was seeing stars. The boy had been furious, but now, as they traded blows in their third match, he could see the Uchiha was falling back into his old habits, and was toying with Naruto. Sadly, it was working. Naruto was just no match for Sasuke's taijutsu. It wasn't fair that he had a fancy clan technique while Naruto was stuck with the beginner's academy style. It sucked! Especially with how open the style felt. Still, the entire fight, Naruto kept his eye on Sasuke's side. And finally, just as the time was running out on a draw, Sasuke leaned onto his left side. With a grin, Naruto stepped forward, throwing a palm towards Sasuke's eyes, grinning as the boy slapped it away as he moved over. A twist, a grab, and a turn caused Naruto to fling Sasuke into the air… and right over the ring's line.

No one cheered.

Though Kiba did laugh.

And suddenly, all the fangirls shouted in unison. Sakura and Ino being matched in their ferocity. But all Naruto cared about was that he had won. Finally. "Finally!"

"Uh, w-winner. Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka took his time, staring at him in shock.

Naruto threw his arms into the air, jumping and screaming. He had beaten his rival. The window seat was just a bonus!

"And he went down!" Naruto sat at Ichiraku's as he told the story to the two old men in his life.

"I'm so happy for you, Naruto." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled down at his surrogate grandson. Now if only the boy could grow up faster and keep his promise of taking this damned hate from him. "It's amazing that could could spot a weakness that glaring."

"I know right! And I plan on following her advice too, and am only going to use it every once in a while. That way Sasuke-teme can't fix it until Nan-chan shows him after we graduate!"

"Well, it's a good thing she's thinking that far ahead. A glaring hole like that can get someone very injured, if not outright killed." It was interesting that the drunkard could even think past the next night of binge drinking. Of course, since he planned on having Kakashi train the boy, the hole would be fixed once he graduated, no matter what.

"Yeah, she's so cool! Oh, that reminds me I need to track her down at some point."

"Track her down? Do you have something of hers? If so, I could return it for you, my boy."

"Huh? No, I just wanted to ask her if she had any more tips in general. I may have beat Sasuke this once, but just knowing that one hole won't help me beat him again. Plus, it doesn't work on Kiba. And I can only beat Choji half the time as is! So any pointers she could give would be great!"

"Well, Naruto—" Hiruzen didn't know where to go from here. He definitely didn't want the poor boy following in the footsteps of such a criminal, not even getting into the alcoholism. Hell, the woman would still be in prison for another seven years if the elders and clan leaders hadn't voted to release her early in order to get the Uchiha clan back on its feet once more. Yet the woman simply sat drinking every day, wallowing in self pity. Lord Second had always told him the clan was nothing if not self loathing, and the woman proved it true every day. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to seek out this woman. I think—"

"Oh, sorry, old man, I didn't hear you." The boy was sticking his head back into the stall from the curtains. "Maybe next time, though, I've got some training to do before the suns down. Have a good one! You too, old man Ichiraku. Ayame!"

And the boy was gone.

Wonderful.

"Teuchi—"

"Ayame, could you please run to Hiashi's for me? We're running low on pork."

The girl glanced between the two men, but eventually nodded and stepped out the back. Hiruzen stared at his old friend intently, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"It is as he said, Lord Third. Last night the boy came in followed by a drunk Nanashi. I had planned on kicking her out immediately so that she wouldn't damage any of the property."

"However?"

With a sigh, the ramen chef leaned against the counter, "Naruto introduced her as a friend, and then ordered food for the both of them. She pulled out the money showing that she could pay, so I couldn't refuse her. I also did not wish to alienate Naruto."

"If he has latched onto the woman as a friend, it will be hard to separate them."

Teuchi was silent, but from his face Hiruzen could tell he wished to speak.

"Go on, my friend, tell me your thoughts."

"Naruto does not have many friends. Perhaps it would be best to leave them be."

If only it were that simple. Not many could look past the boys' prisoner. Nanashi had, from what the boy said, however… Nanashi Uchiha was not just a criminal, nor was she simply an alcoholic imbecile. She was someone who had worshipped the ground that Minato had walked upon, basing her entire style of fighting on the Fourth. There was no doubt in his mind that Nanashi had instantly recognized Naruto as the man's son. She was dangerous and crafty, a Jonin at the age of fourteen, there was no telling what the woman's plans were for Naruto, and if he had to threaten the woman himself, then he would make sure her claws were not sunken into the boy.

"I will take it into consideration." Nanashi Uchiha's dark plans would not come to fruition. As the Third Hokage, he would not allow it.

"Go away… brat." Nanashi slurred as she hung out of her front door.

"Come on, Nanashi-sensei!" She scowled at the attached word. "Please teach me!"

"No." she tried to shut the door on him, so he stuck his head in the way, blocking it. "How strong is that skull?"

"Please, please, please!" He was overpowering her, prying the door open.

"Why me!?" she shouted, desperate to keep the crazed boy out.

Naruto was able to squeeze through and collapsed onto the floor, breathing deeply. "Because…"

After a minute, Nanashi sighed and corked her drink to hang it at her hip. "You gonna follow that up, brat?"

"You're awesome!" The kid bounced back to his feet, grinning up at her widely. "The early graduation exam is four months away. And you're the only person I've met who's even willing to teach me. So come on! Be my teacher."

"And what's in it for me?"

The boy struck a pose, giving her a thumbs up. "Because I'm going to be Hokage. Believe it! You'll get to brag to everyone about—"

"Hard pass. Get out." She deadpanned.

"Come on. Pleeeeease?"

She opened her door and kicked him out, ready to shut it once more.

"Wait!" He almost sounded desperate.

"Kid, I'm really not—"

"How about we spar!?"

She'd kick his ass up and down the village streets, is what would happen. "You serious kid?"

"Come on. If I impress you, you have to take me on as a student!"

With a heavy sigh, Nanashi pulled the door back open. "No offense, kid, but you really shouldn't do this."

"Why not? Scared?"

That was the last straw. She was going to break a leg or two. Or at least bruise that ego of his. "Fine, but I'm warning you now, if you get injured, I won't be held responsible."

Naruto was already stretching several feet away from the house as Nanashi stumbled out. He almost seemed eager, and she was going to hate beating that out of him. He'd simply have to understand that she had no right to teach anyone. "No right." She sat her sake bottle down just in case something happened and moved to stand before him.

"Did you say something?" Naruto called out.

"Get ready. We go on three." Nanashi didn't bother stretching. She merely sagged where she stood and flicked a finger at the boy. "On three."

"Wait!"

"Three." She stepped forward, much to the boy's chagrin, and kicked a cloud of dirt into his face, startling him. "Come on, start moving."

"What's the big idea!" She ignored his words. This would be a good lesson for the boy, her first and only one. Fights didn't start with a count, they started with the boldest fighter. She remembered beating a squad of genin to the punch during the war with a fire jutsu as they tried to pull out their kunai. It ended the fight immediately but…

Naruto leaped forward, annoyance, or anger seared into his face. His moves were out of place, sloppy. It barely followed the academy style she had mastered so long ago. She allowed him to catch up to her, yet not a single hit landed, though an unexpected kick nearly landed on her sluggish form. It was nothing more than a hot mess.

Nanashi finally moved onto the offensive by bringing a knee up, catching his fist square on as his face twisted in pain. She stomped down, catching his toes and causing him to hop back, but she pushed on. She leaned forward on her left leg and snapped out a punch, catching his palm as he desperately fell onto the defensive.

But suddenly, he actually did something unexpected.

He grabbed her arm and stepped to her left side. "Interesting." His leg wrapped around hers, and he pulled her to the ground. Or tried anyway. Her joints popped, and she twisted, grabbing the back of his shirt and dragging him under her. With a twist, she freed her leg and yanked his arm behind his back, pinning it with her knee. She slammed him into the ground and grabbed the boy's other arm, pinning it to the dirt. She yawned.

Naruto sat, face in the dirt, stuttering out something that she couldn't quite make out.

"I'll say, you've got guts, brat, but… it's pretty stupid to use a move on the person who taught it to you."

Finally Naruto was able to turn his face out of the dirt, shouting, "But you were open!"

"I'm never open, kid." Nanashi laughed to herself, but still didn't move to let the boy up. "Find someone else to teach you, kid. I'm not the one for you."

Finally, she stood, letting the boy stand and lick his wounds. She staggered towards her sake bottle and picked it up, blowing on the top to get rid of any dust. "Please!" Naruto's voice stopped her from bringing the bottle to her lips.

Nanashi turned, eyebrow raised, as she noticed the boy on his knees, head down. "Kid, just stop."

"Please train me!"

"Kid—"

"You're the first person to actually teach me something!"

"You've got the academy for that."

"Iruka never has time to teach me. He's too busy with the academy itself."

"The other teachers—"

"Want nothing to do with me!" She couldn't tell if the boy was crying to shaking in anger as he continued to bow before her.

"Ask the Third, you have his favor."

"He's too busy running the village, plus…"

Nanashi knew exactly what was stopping the boy. Guilt. She had felt the same with Minato-sama. Maybe if she had spoken up, though, perhaps…

"Even without my pranks, everyone in the village hates me. They hate the way I look, the way I act, the clothes I wear. They even hate my name! I didn't ask for this name! I didn't ask for the way I look or for the villagers to treat me this way!"

Nanashi had heard the reasons for him being named an Uzumaki. She also knew many shinobi didn't agree with the boy gaining the name. If only they knew who his mother really was. At least, that's what she could guess. He looked nothing like Kushina, but Minato never spoke of anyone else but the red head so it wasn't hard to put two and two together.

"But you—I finally beat Sasuke in a full on spar… Even Iruka didn't believe it at first, and I know the old man didn't. He—I could see it in his eyes."

"I'm definitely not the person to train you, kid. I've got my own problems…" Namely the bottle in her hand.

"Even just some pointers will do… a step in the right direction, maybe, like yesterday. I'm just looking for some help… any kind."

"I—" the last personal she had tried to help had been her little cousin, Itachi. And look where that had left her, rotting in prison.

"Just some advice. Please."

Nanashi took a long swig of sake to stop her trembling hands. She owed everything to the kid's father, but she was nothing. She was less than trash. What right did she have to train her hero's son? "Naruto."

He looked up at her, finally revealing those large blue eyes, just like his father.

Something snapped inside of her, and she knew she'd need some more drink when this was over. "Advice and some tips. I don't have time to walk you, show you tai or ninjutsu, but I can get you some scrolls and books. You'll need to return them, however. You understand me?"

His smile could outshine the sun.

Nanashi starred at her favorite tree, nestled on her favorite training ground. It had been a few hours since Naruto had finally scampered away, but she had stayed outside, giving a grunted greeting to Sasuke as he walked past on his way to one of the other Uchiha training grounds. Apparently, she wasn't good enough company for the boy. She could understand why, who would want to deal with a criminal like her? Even her old team sneered the few times they passed in the street.

"That kid's an idiot."

"And who may that be?"

Nanashi turned, sipping on her sake, and watched as the Third Hokage himself stalked towards her. She refused to bow or greet the old bastard. He had always spoken of how the entire village was his family, but she obviously wasn't a part of it, just like she wasn't part of the Uchiha. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"He's a good child, one that far too many people look down on. I see you are part of that group as well."

Ah, so that was what the man was here for. Associating with known criminals wasn't good for the boy's image, though she didn't understand how his image could fall any lower. "Quite the opposite. The brat wouldn't leave me alone, wanted me to teach him."

"I assume you denied him?" There was almost glee in his tone. She frowned and glanced toward the edge of the clearing, feeling the murderous intent directed at her.

"Nah. He whittled me down. I'll make him a star." She was fibbing, of course, though with the amount of sarcasm dripping from her like venom, she was sure the man could tell.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" His tone was serious now, and Nanashi couldn't help but laugh at the situation. The last time he had sounded like this…

"Are you gonna throw me in prison again if I don't stay away? Is that it?"

"I cannot lock you up for simply befriending an orphan." She knew the slick bastard wasn't done, so held her tongue. "Of course, there is still the manner of you recklessness and damage done to many businesses while drunk."

"Those were all settled already."

"Then why have I heard rumors of an incident with a Jonin and Chunin last night?"

She glared at the man, and instantly there was a breath on her neck as an Anbu appeared, ready for anything. "They assaulted me." The idiots wouldn't have said anything, but if pressed by the old man…

"Perhaps this incident, and the many futures ones, can be avoided, however."

"You can't expect me to abandon the kid already."

The man was already turning to leave, yet his Anbu stayed at her back, radiating his intent. "Be grateful I am giving you the option." He could just call treason and throw her in prison. Nanashi supposed it was her own fault, however. She had been given a second chance, yet squandered it at her own pity party. Who cared, though? It was her life. She could do whatever she wanted with it. Who cared about a village that had stabbed her in the back, or a clan that had always put her down?

Her hero had… his son too…

"Let me know your answer after the council meeting tomorrow. We'll be done around two in the afternoon. Just wait with my secretary."

It took five minutes before the kunai was pulled from her back and the breathing stopped, but eventually, Nanashi was left on her own once more. The usual. But now, an anger burned inside of her. Who the hell was he to tell her who she could teach?

Nanashi flexed her left hand, wondering briefly if she still had it in her… She sighed deeply, then took a generous swig of her sake, filling her cheeks as her left hand flashed through two dozen half-hand signs in three seconds. She moved forward, finishing in a half tiger at her lips and slammed her left foot into the training ground. Leaning forward, she mentally chanted. "Fire Style: Napalm Deluge!" She spewed the mixture of alcohol and flames into the air, watching as it coated and stuck to her old training tree. In less than a minute, the thick liquid flames covered the tree in its entirety, burning it to ash in roughly ten minutes. Nanashi forgot how long she stayed standing there, watching the flames slowly burn out, but she knew that perhaps, she had let herself go… Ten years ago she could have incinerated the tree in the first three seconds, but now… now… she needed more booze.

(AN: Wooo, chapter 3 is done. Honestly though I was going to end it 2k words ago but it just kept on coming. Anyways hope you all enjoyed it, please leave a review with your thoughts. In fact, here's a question for you guys, who is your favorite Naruto character?