During class one day, Iruka for whatever reason was running late and they were left alone-with no teacher.
Mayhem.
Not really, the kids were quite loud however. Naruto had already started his prank-pulling and had obviously realized this was a pristine opportunity to pull some tricks. In hopes of impressing her, he had taken Iruka's chalk and rigged it up to the desk drawers, so when he opened it to get the attendance books it would explode.
He looked hopefully Miko's way and beamed when she smiled.
Iruka walked in flustered and red-faced.
"Sit down! I need to take attendance!" Everyone scrambled for a seat. He reached for the drawer.
"HAHAHAH!" The class, in turns, laughed and gasped in surprise. Iruka was rabid in chewing out Naruto, perhaps a bit too harshly. She fucking beamed as an glorious idea hit her.
At first, she was hesitant to approach Naruto. While he would be very helpful in the future, that was the future and right now being seen with him would damage her reputation-and thus the Uchiha. Which is why despite being at the academy together, she had never treated him bad, but with a warm indifference, a smile and a wave was all.
But she didn't have to be close to use him.
A Grinch smile curled behind a curtain of curls.
She could use these pranks of his.
Point him in the right direction and plug her ears. She had heard her cousins complaining about Naruto, and what a pain his pranks were. This was a potent, untapped resource. And come on! A kid who was emotional dependent, willing to do anything to be accepted, and had a crush on her? He was begging to be manipulated!
So it was settled. At lunch, she would approach him.
Time dragged now that she made up her mind. When the bell finally rang, she was the first one out. She ran to Naruto's spot in the back. Kids steered clear of here so she would be good. She hunkered into the bushes.
When Naruto finally come, he was lost in thought. He probably got a detention again.
"Psst! Hey!"
"WHA- Whose there!? A ghost!"
"It's me, Miko." She stepped out.
Naruto blushed and stuttered.
"O-oh h-hey, Umm."
"Call me Miko-chan."
"Oo-ookay, Miko-chan." He blushed.
"I saw that prank of yours. It was pretty clever." She complemented. He stuttered out what might have been a thanks, eyes darting to her and then the grass.
"But you wanna know what could be better?"
"What? Tell me tell me!" He squealed.
She allowed a smirk before getting down to business. She went over the details- the police force's patrols, hot-spots, people to prank and when. She told him strategies(Some she learned from Shikamaru) and explained them to him. While not an academic Naruto adored her the way Hinata adored him, so he absorbed this like a sponge.
Confused?
Let her explain.
By pranking certain people, they would be forced to interact with the police force-who were still majority Uchiha. When it came to trivial things like pranks normally less experienced officers would go along, but when it came to Naruto an Uchiha officer was always sent. Her thinking was to force them to interact more, it was a way to bring the Police and the people even closer together.
And she could target anti-Uchiha citizens, send a message to them. Hell, with Naruto's skill, she could go for Xenophobic Uchiha too. He could do things she wouldn't be able to in case it ruined her rep.
Walking home from school today, Itachi sensed her smugness.
"What did you do, Miko-chan?" She smirked.
It took two weeks to see the fruits of Naruto's labor- when an young Uchiha officer-a certain somebody named Akira-got trapped in a prank with a lady store owner, he had stuttered as he tried to untie himself, and the lady laughed, saying it was alright. He then asked her on a date, after all was said and done. She had given Naruto a kiss after she heard Fugaku tell Mikoto. Naruto did this many more times, and then suddenly, police officers-many of who were Uchiha- were going on dates with civilians.
Word got out that Queen-bee didn't hate Naruto and she did nothing to discourage this. So maybe, Naruto got a few less sneers, and a few almost smiles as he walked down the halls.
~Extra~
She grinned cheekily as she walked through the halls. Most boys blushed, some waved, girls tittered hello and she waved back. But she was a girl with a goal in mind. She arrived in the almost empty classroom, homemade bento box with all their favorites inside. She straightened her shirt with a gray kitten with orange eyes and a cauliflower ear and stared at the very same person who she had made it for. She remembered making it.
"Miko, who is this for?" Her father asked.
"For someone who helped me. A thank you."
"Ah."
Her mother had helped, wrapping it nicely before she went to the academy.
She took a deep breath and walked to their slumped over form.
"Hello Shikamaru." She chirped.
The boy jumped, eyes peeling open. For a second he though he was still dreaming, because what looked like an angel was standing over him, with a sweet grin.
"Oh, Miko, hey." He said, eyes wide and not looking at all upset for being awoken or bothered.
"I made this for you-as a thank you! Thank you!" She placed the box right in front of him, then placed a kiss on his cheek.
Unable to respond, Shikamaru just gaped.
She skipped away, intent on braiding Ino's pretty hair before class.
"...W-what did I d-do?" He gasped.
Not that he was complaining-he just wanted to do it again.