"Talking"
"SHOUTING/SCREAMING/YELLING"
'Thoughts'
"Jutsu"
"Tailed Beast Talking"
'Tailed Beast Thinking'
Sound Effects
Date Time
Location
[Flashback]
]
Chapter 11
]
Morning, Konoha
Shutting the door to his Apartment, Naruto placed a palm on the wooden surface and activated the over a dozen security seals he had installed. Nodding satisfyingly to himself, the redhead took to the streets with the Academy as his destination.
!
Feigning ignorance, the Uzumaki snuck a glance at the rooftops before scowling, 'The day has just begun yet the surveillance is already double the usual amount.'
"Well you have been active a lot lately."
'That's true.' The 14 soon to be 15 year old teen admitted, 'Ever since I meet Misa I have been up and about.' His mind drifted to situation surrounding the Mitarashi and her friend - Yakumo, 'It's a good thing I already predicted this and warned them on time.'
"Hehehe," Kurama chuckled, "Sometimes I find it hard to believe that how much you have changed."
'I have the Swirling Tides to thank for that.'
"Speaking of them, are you still planning to head for the temple today?"
'Of course, but it will have to be at the cover of night.'
"Mhmm," The fox mused, "You do know that it's basically a warehouse full of masks right?"
'I know.'
"Well I won't stop you," The tailed beast shrugged, "Alert me if something interesting happens."
'Will do,' Naruto replied as the Academy came into view, along with the glares of some of the parents who were present, 'Seriously, aren't they tired of this?' He wondered as he walked to the entrance only for a middle aged man to step in his path, 'Oh come on!'
"You damn brat!" The man all but growled out, "Don't you have any shame-" Naruto walked pass him, "Hey! I'm taking to you." The man reached out for the shoulder.
"I don't have time for you," The Uzumaki muttered before substituting him with a trashcan leaving the man hands-deep into garbage.
"Huh? Wait-!"
"EWWWW!"
Pretending that he wasn't responsible for the man's humiliation, Naruto walked into the Academy and headed for his classroom only to encounter another issue at the doorway - Sasuke's fangirls.
"Stop right there Naruto," Their leader – Kasumi blocked his way, "I got a question for you."
"And that is?" The Jinchuriki calmly asked.
"Where's is she?"
He raised a red brow, "Who?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" She snarled as her entourage narrowed their glares, "Where's the purple haired tramp that's after our prince!"
"Yeah, where is she?"
"Bring her out!"
"Stop protecting her!"
Naruto's lips dipped into frown, "First of all," He began speaking, "Her name is Misa, not tramp, and secondly she's not after Sasuke-"
"Lies!"
"She's totally is!"
"I saw her checking him out in class yesterday."
"There you have it," Kasumi glared at him, "Now stop making excuses and tell where she is."
Staring at the girls before him, the redhead wondered how they even made it to the Final year class, 'Ah right, the Civilian council dumb down the curriculum.' He remembered.
"Hey! Hey!" Kasumi snapped her fingers before him, "Stop zoning out and tell us where is she?"
"I don't know because I have met her today."
"Lies, if you keep protecting-"
"Enough!" The Uzumaki interrupted as he was dangerous close to his breaking point, "Now kindly step aside or I will…"
"Or you will what?"
Naruto didn't reply, instead his let loose a bit of his killing intent and focused it all on her.
!
"A-ah," Pale in the face with a bead of sweat flowing down the side of her cheek, Kasumi took a step back and gulped, "S-sure t-thing," She quickly moved to side, allowing the redhead free entry into the class.
"Hey!"
"Kasumi, why did you do that?"
"We had him!"
"S-shut up!"
Shaking his head, the Jinchuriki claimed his seat and noted that there were still a couple minutes until roll call so ignoring the glances and stares, he whipped out a red colored book and occupied himself with the belief that none of them would bother approaching him-
"Hello Naruto, whatcha reading?"
'Seriously?' Lowering his book, the Uzumaki stared at the blonde girl standing before his desk, "Ino?"
"The one and only." Said female flipped back her ponytail, "So whatcha reading?"
"A book."
"What kind of book?" Naruto didn't bother answering, instead he handed her the book and watched as she flipped a couple pages before blinking, "It's gibberish."
"Exactly!" He reached out and reclaimed the book from her hands, "So why are you really here?" He then inquired because he knew that she didn't come to him because of the book.
"Hmph," Huffing at being found out, the Yamanaka pointed to the empty desk on his right, "Where's your girl? I want to chat with her."
"Misa is not my girl."
Ino smirked, "I didn't mention a name."
'Damn,' knowing that she got him, the Uzumaki sighed then gestured to the class door, "She's avoiding them."
"Them?" Having a look, Ino soon spotted the troop of girls hovering round said door, "Ah," She nodded in understanding, "They're trying to ambush her."
"All because their 'Prince' paid more attention to her fight than theirs," The Jinchuriki grumbled as he put away his clan's book.
"To be honest, her fight with Hinata was easily the best," Ino admitted as she crossed her arms under her modest chest, "At a point I was even rooting for her to beat Hinata."
Naruto stared at her, "Is it because of your loss to Hinata?"
"A bit," The blonde gave a wryly smile, "So how was your date?" She switched topics.
"You followed us?" He already knew that they were followed but didn't bother checking who it was, "Of course you did."
"Along with half the class," That surprised him as he didn't expect that much, "But something strange happened along the way."
"Strange?" A red brow was raised.
Ino nodded, "Once Misa grabbed your hand, the rest claimed to have lost sight of you two and decided to head back home."
'Ah! The genjutsu' The Uzumaki realized.
"It was really strange," The blonde continued, "The two of you were right there holding hands, but the others kept saying that there was no one there."
"There weren't lying," Naruto smiled at her, "To them, no one was there."
"To them…" Ino narrowed her gaze, "What did you do?"
"Nothing"
"I don't believe you."
The redhead shrugged, "Your choice."
"… So it was Misa then," The Yamanaka deduced, "how did she do it?"
"You can ask her."
"But she's not here."
"Who's not here?" Questioned a feminine voice.
"AH!" Ino jumped then swirled round, "Misa?" She gawked at the Mitarashi, "How did you get here?"
The purple haired tilted her head, "I came through the door." She answered.
"The door..? But the girls who are trying to ambush you…" Ino stared at the door and the fangirls were still hovering round it, "How did you…" She pointed at the door then Misa.
"Trade secret." The taller girl grinned.
"Oh, come on!"
Going round the blonde, Misa took her seat and smiled at her neighbor, "Morning Naruto"
"Morning Misa" Said neighbor smiled back.
Ino's right eye twitched, "And now they're in their little world." She mumbled.
"Iruka-sensei is coming!"
The announcement from a random fangirl caused a stir as everyone quickly took their seats. Ino muttered a curse at the interruption before returning to her own desk just in time for said sensei to walk in.
"Morning everyone," The Chunin started off with a greeting, "Before I take attendance I have an announcement to make." This got everyone's attention as they all quieted down, "As of this morning, a third of the academy staff was suspended indefinitely."
"HUH!" "WHAT!"
"Quiet please," Iruka instructed, "Now among those suspended is our very own Mitsuki-sensei," Cue looks of surprised from both Naruto and Misa, "The Headmistress hasn't disclosed the exact reason behind the suspensions, but insisted that they were necessary for maintenance of ideal learning conditions."
'Ideal learning conditions… Did the old man finally step in?' Naruto wondered.
'It appears so,' Kurama replied, 'He's probably eliminating obstacles which may hinder you and your mate from graduating.'
'… Yeah, that's most likely it.' The Uzumaki accepted as he recalled when Misa told him that her reenrollment was endorsed by the Hokage, 'He definitely has plans for the two of us but it seems that they can't be carried out until we achieved the rank of Genin.'
'He isn't the only one.' The fox pointed out.
'Yeah, there's Danzo and the other elders. I will have to deploy more spies-' A pinch to his arm had him staring at his neighbor, "Yes Misa?"
"Were you aware?" She asked him in a low voice.
"About the suspensions?" The Mitarashi nodded, "No, I wasn't aware."
"Okay."
"Aburame Shino." Iruka started roll call.
"Present."
"Akira-
…
…
…
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Hmph."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Present."
"That's everyone." The Chunin nodded before closing the register, "Now, since we're currently understaffed, self study will be in effect until recess," Cue groans from the students, "and to ensure that you actually study, a surprise quiz will be held sometime in the afternoon." Cue more groans, "I suggested revisiting Chapters 6 to 9 for the quiz."
Done with his part, Iruka exited the class leaving the students to their studies.
]
In a desolate bar
Staring at a glass of crystal clear liquid, Mitsuki recalled the point when today took a turn for the worst.
(Flashback)
"What?"
The Headmistress sighed before repeating, "I said you among 20 others are being suspended on charges of academic sabotage."
"Sabotage but I never-"
"Tampering of results, falsification of results, misplacement of answer sheets, modification of training dummies and targets, should I continue?" She asked with a flat stare.
'All those, they were intended for the demon brat!' The chunin said to himself, 'You normally turned a blind eye to them before so why the sudden 180…' He trailed off, 'Wait...'
"Mitsuki-san, are you still there?"
'Of course,' Mitsuki realized why, 'her neck is on the line so to save face, she needs a couple scapegoats.'
"Mitsuki-san? Mitsuki-san?"
'The brat ratted me out, that's the only explanation.'
"If you're just going to keep ignoring me then I suggest you leave and never return!"
"Gladly." He turned and headed for the door.
BAM!
(Flashback ends)
Grabbing the glass, Mitsuki squeezed it so hard that cracks began to form, "Curse you brat!" He growled out loud.
Crack!
"Curse you!"
Crack!
"Curse you!"
Crack!
"CURSE YOU!"
CRACK!
"Sir."
"WHAT!" He glared at the barmaid.
Shakily she pointed to his hand, "I-its b-bleeding sir."
"Ah," Mitsuki stared at said hand, "you're right." He muttered as his rage bleed away.
"W-would you like some bandages?" She offered.
"… No, it will stop on its own."
"Okay, would you like another glass?"
"… Make it three."
]
Hokage Office
When the report came in, Hiruzen was surprised to say the least. He was already aware that Naruto wasn't receiving the best treatment from the Academic staff and he had already made plans to address that but for someone else to beat him to it.
'Koharu, what are you aiming for by doing this.' The aged leader wondered.
He could tell that the order came from the female elder because of the prompt manner in which the suspensions were dished out. The Headmistress only responds that quick if the order came from two certain individuals, him – the Hokage and Koharu – Her aunt and the one who placed her in that position, and since he hadn't given such order yet then it had to be Koharu's doing.
'It seems several individuals are working in the background.'
]
Academy
After several hours of self study, which most of the students didn't partake in, Iruka gave them the test and once they were done, granted them the permission to leave earlier than usual since the remaining periods were free.
Arriving at the academy gates, Naruto waved Misa aside and handed her 4 red colored bracelets, "Here you go," The Uzumaki whispered to her, "The shadow clones that I promised to send over."
"Wow," The purple haired exclaimed as she stared at the bracelets, "How can they transform into something this small?"
The redhead smirked, "Just like Yakumo has her 'Super Genjutsu', I have the 'Super Henge'."
"Not fair!" The Mitarashi pouted, "Why am I the only one without a 'Super Jutsu?"
"I'm sure you will get one sooner or later."
"Really?"
"Really," Naruto nodded, "Now," His expression turned serious, "Do you sense them?"
"Yeah," Misa said while sneaking a glance at the rooftops, "They're more than usual."
"They're for me, but some may try to tail you since we are now friends."
"That is a possibility," The Mitarashi admitted as she wore the bracelets on her wrist, "I will use a bit of clones and genjutsu to shake them."
"Be careful-
"HEY YOU TWO!"
Looking back, they both found a certain platinum blond running towards, 'Ino.' The two sighed.
The Yamanaka caught up to them and glared, "You're giving me the slip this time."
"Ino, what do you want?" Naruto asked.
"First of all," She handed Misa a sheet of paper, "Take a look."
"Okay," Misa received the paper and took a look, "Oh," She looked up and grinned at Naruto, "Congrats Mr. 3rd place."
The Jinchuriki raised a brow, "In what?"
Ino was the one to answer, "You were voted the 3rd cutest boy in class."
"… Eh?"
'Well, that's a surprise.'
"You got 9 votes, beating Kiba who got 8," Misa read from the paper, "You are just behind Shikamaru who got 11 and Sasuke who got 14."
"9 Huh," The Uzumaki chuckled, "That's a big jump from the 3 votes which I got last time."
"That bad boy image seems to be working for you," Ino pointed out with Misa agreeing with her.
'Bad boy image?' The male wondered.
'Your change in attitude and dressing,' Kurama answered, 'Some of the girls probably found them attractive.'
'I see.'
"So Ino," Misa called the blonde's attention, "Is this why you stopped us?" She waved the paper.
"No," The Yamanaka denied, "The primary reason for stopping you is to continue my interrogation from this morning."
"Interrogation?"
"Yes," Ino confirmed before crossing her arms, "So what happened during your date," She stared at both of them, "that made half of the class lose sight of you when you were still there?"
Naruto didn't want to deal with this so, "Misa, she's all yours." He dumped the Yamanaka on his female friend.
"Wait a minute," The Mitarashi attempted to grab him but he slipped through, "Hey!"
"I will make it up to you." The redhead promised before vanishing from sight.
"Damn," Misa muttered as she felt a pair of pale blue eyes boring into her back. With a resigned sigh, she turned round and began explained the workings behind the invisibility genjutsu.
]
AN: Happy New Year! Yeah, it's late but I still want to say it.
Anyway, this is less than the 4 thousand word chapters I usually deliver and that's the next segment wouldn't mesh well if I included it here, so it reserved from the next chapter.
Next up
Chapter 12
Total Number of Words: 2566 Words
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