I!

AM!

A!

BAD!

PERSON!

I'M SORRY!

If you hate me... I wouldn't blame you, I'd hate me, I actually sorta already hate me for not being able to finish this chapter faster, guh, sorry...

Soo...

A lot has happened over the last couple weeks (cough*YEAR(s)*cough) that have kept me from writing, then add in writer's block and you have a beautiful combination of problems!

I was at first thinking of trying to make up for all the weeks I missed, but I decided that I would just start up a new routine where I update when I am able, I already have a couple (future) chapters already written up (not the next two but the two after that) so yay for that. I already have the outlines written for the next two chapters, i just have to actually write them, also they should also be very long chapters as they will be the actual time-skip chapters that this one was supposed to be; HA! If that happened then this chapter would be over 100 pages, and nobody wants to slog through that! So yeah, have a 50+ paged chapter instead!

Also, fair warning, just so you all know and can rage quit if you want to, this story will have an OP Naruto, but thankfully, after everything is explained, it will make sense and he won't be OP just because I decided him to be, so look forward to that lovely scene to come.

Another fair warning, this is a yaoi harem story, so... If you don't like harem stories then this, and basically any other story I write (though not all) ain't for you, sorry, but I like having main characters, especially abused main characters, have lots of people that they can have lots of lovin' from.

Who will be in the harem? I haven't actually decided yet, I'm still working out who and how many exactly, but that aspect of the story won't really take full effect until the sequel, which will be a far more sexually mature story anyway, but you'll probably see most of the potential partners in this story (no doubt you have an idea for a couple of them) so, I just thought that, since I'm telling you that this will be an OP Naruto story that I might as well tell you about this as well.

That is all so on to-

Review responses:

Remzal Von Enili: thank you for your review, you made me laugh

Naruita14: aww, thank you!

Waldo Santiago: thank you for elaborating; I hadn't really thought of that, but you'll get your answer in this chapter and I am doing much better thank you so much, you are such a sweetheart!

SilverTail: why thank you dear, I hope you like this chapter as well and all those to come.

Guest: I'm sorry you feel that way about Kira, but it won't change the fact that he is staying, if you don't like him, well boo for you I guess. I'm not trying to be mean or disrespectful but he is staying in this story for a number of reasons, one of them being that he's important to the plot of this story in an interesting way, you'll understand as time goes on. Also, Naruto being a girl... you'll find out more as time goes on I assure you.

Silent Analyst: thanks for the well wishes! Also, no, Kira doesn't get the full recovery because he doesn't have a bed

Also, since this might be something that everyone was wondering about, I decided to put the response I made to someone here.

Someone brought up that they disliked the aspect about the story where it seemed that everyone was gay (you know who you are) and this was my response to them:

Just so you know, the entire cast isn't gay. Mainly only the people interested in Naruto are going to be gay/bisexual, Naruto himself is actually bi, he's just a little more interested in guys than girls for reasons that will be explained later.

Most of the cast is straight, but since I've been focusing on Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino, it seems like everyone is gay.

There is still Sasuke's fan club, Iruka is straight as is most of the boys in Naruto's class, Rock Lee, Gai and Tenten are straight. Kakashi is bi like Naruto, and I guess so is Shikamaru? He likes Naruto but he hadn't ever had a crush on anyone before Naruto, since he has a mom and a dad he just assumed he would end up with a girl as well.

Kira is, something. I haven't decided who he's going to end up with and whether that person will be male or female so I'm waiting on that one. In other words don't worry! Stories that make everyone out to be gay always make me laugh or cringe as it's unrealistic. When I write stories with gay characters, mainly only the characters interested in the main character are gay while just about everyone else is straight.

And there will be female characters interested in Naruto (like Hinata) since Naruto draws people to him, it's just that he now draws people to him in a slightly different way now.

So yeah, if anyone was worried about all of the cast being gay, this is my response to that.

And a special thanks to Endingf4te and SomeNobody for your reviews-after seeing them they guilted me into actually finishing this chapter!

Also, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR FAVORITING AND FOLLOWING THIS STORY!

I wonder if I'll reach 50 reviews by the next update? Who knows...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto cast or the world, The Gamer elements and anything that might belong to other people

Naruto: Player 2

A Day at the Academy

[Location: Naruto's Apartment – May 21st: 4:45 AM]

You have slept in your bed. HP and MP have been fully restored.

Waving away the words and grunting as he hit the floor, Naruto got up to begin what he now knew as a normal day in his strange everyday life.

He gathered his clothes, a black tee-shirt, cargo shorts, his orange vest and a pair of boxers, and headed to the bathroom, glancing into his sort of living room on the way, taking in Kira's form on his couch. He hadn't been able to do much else for the brunette after he'd offered his home to him, and Kira had insisted that he not take Naruto's bed-though the blond wouldn't have minded sharing-and had instead opted for the couch.

'Hmm, I really should start fixing everything up after school today,' Naruto mused to himself as he stepped into his bathroom and took care of his morning business.

After taking his shower he headed to the kitchen and started on breakfast. Kira was still asleep, so he decided he would wake the other boy when it was time to eat and continued on with the preparations-

Greetings Chef Naruto! What would you like to make today?

-Rice

-Eggs (Scrambled)

-Eggs (Boiled)

-Eggs (Sunny-side-up)

-Omelet

-Ham

-Bacon

-Fried fish

-Curry

-Muffins

-Sausage

-Fruit (chopped)

-Fruit Salad

Clicking on the rice, sausage, omelet, bacon (he debated over the muffins but decided he didn't have the time) and fruit salad he got to cooking.

While he was preparing everything he also grabbed his old teapot, filled it with water and put it on the stove; he wanted tea, and tea gave an extra INT and Stamina boost that he liked to have every morning, made it less likely that he would fall asleep during class, even the more boring ones.

He hummed happily as he went about making the food and tea, flipping the bacon and turning the sausage with a spring in his step; he also went about making bentos for himself and Kira as there was no longer a lunch period during school, just a short lunch break, which was a another way the instructors were training them, getting them used to only having a short amount of time to eat their food while out on missions.

Soon enough Naruto was finished making the bentos and with breakfast so he went over to Kira and shook him awake," c'mon Kira, it's almost time to eat!" he called not so quietly, not caring about his vocal level since he was trying to wake the boy up.

Kira groaned quietly but pulled himself up, rubbing at his eyes in a rather cute manner, Naruto noted mentally, then stretched with a wide yawn; his back popped a couple times before he slumped forward, looking up at Naruto through squinted eyes.

Naruto smiled down at the boy," good morning, it's almost time to eat! You can take a shower first if you want though," he straightened his back as Kira nodded to him in acknowledgement and then made his way back to the kitchen and finished up with everything, quickly set the table then plated all the food.

[Intermediate Cook]'s level has gone up by 2.

Naruto grinned cheerily as he closed the pop-up.

Just as he finished Kira came out of the bathroom wide awake and dressed. He smiled at the blond as he slid into his seat. "Good morning Naruto," he greeted, Naruto nodded back before they clapped their hands and let out merry "Itadekimasu!" and got down to eating.

They made light conversation as they ate, talking about what they'd be doing before and after school that day. Kira decided that today would be the day that Naruto start learning Fuinjutsu, or at the very least look at a beginners scroll, and the blond agreed wholeheartedly as they finished their breakfast. They gathered up the dishes and placed them in the sink, but just as they were wondering if they had the time to do all the dishes Naruto was struck with an idea.

Grinning with glee Naruto put his hands in a cross symbol," Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and just like that, a clone appeared.

The clone turned to Naruto with mild annoyance on its face, eyebrow twitching as it shook its' head, turning around and getting to work on the dishes. Naruto grinned," thanks a bunch!" he cheekily thanked then headed out of his apartment with Kira and to Training Grounds 1.

.

.

.

.

.

.

[Location: Konoha's Academy – 7:00 AM]

After he and Kira parted ways for classes that day Naruto started stealthily moving through the building, moving within the shadows and out of sight of everyone. He carefully made his way to an unused office and created twenty clones who all grinned mischievously at each other, then, disappeared.

Naruto smirked but he forced it off of his face, no need to make anyone suspect him when he hadn't actually done anything, yet.

He forced his body to relax all the way, not even allowing for a heightened heartbeat, and made his way out of the office and swiftly headed for his classroom.

[Stealth]'s level has gone up by 1.

Naruto took in the classroom, noticing that there wasn't anyone there, not even the teachers. The boy grinned,' must be my lucky day,' he thought before swooping in; he was going to make today even more memorable than yesterday.

[Trapping]'s level has gone up by 1.

Naruto sat back in his seat with a content sigh as his other classmates started to trickle in the room, the noise level steadily getting higher and higher as more people entered.

"Hello Naruto-kun," the blond turned to the right and grinned at Shino, who smiled softly back.

"Hey Shino! How're you?" he leaned onto his elbows, looking with interest at the bug user, who shifted a bit before nodding,

"I am doing well, Naruto-kun, thank you for asking. How are you faring?" Naruto couldn't help chuckling at the way Shino had phrased that before he answered him,

"Ah, I'm faring very well, thank you for asking!"

"Hey Naruto," the two moved to look to the left and watched as Shikamaru and Chouji slid into the seat beside the blond; Naruto nodded to them, grinning all the while,

"Hey yourselves! How're you doing today?"

"I'm good, I wonder what we'll be doing today," Chouji smiled warmly as he swiftly finished the last of his chips.

"Me too, I'm doing good; how're you Naruto?" Shikamaru replied while leaning heavily on his arms, his eyes lazily moving over the blond who just grinned again,

"I'm doing great! I actually can't wait for class to start!" he was nearly vibrating in his seat from obvious excitement.

The four of them talked for the rest of the time left before class started, Shino and Shikamaru again thanking Naruto for the pendants that he had gotten them, and Naruto waving it off, saying that he had seen the pendants and decided that they would suit the two very well.

That just caused for the two brunets to blush; and for the Akimichi to giggle uncontrollably; the blond had absolutely no idea why either was happening.

He wasn't able to question what was going on though as class then started.

"Good morning class!" Iruka called cheerfully, Hikaru and Haruka nodding to them with grins on their faces. The students quieted down and greeted the scarred man back with differing levels of enthusiasm; Iruka merely continued to grin," Let's start class for today, shall we?" a chorus of 'Hai' drifted around the room as Iruka went to pick up the attendance ledger.

The man swiftly took rollcall then jumped right into the first lesson of the day.

"Today will be another Chakra Control day, now follow me class!" he made his way out of the classroom and everyone followed him, all of them moving outside to continue with the class.

As they walked out Naruto remembered how they had started learning the Tree-climbing Exercise the day before, and that they were all expected to train in it in their free time, he himself had been trying to work on it as much as he could since the day before.

[1st Period – Chakra; 8:05 AM]

Once everyone was outside Iruka turned to everyone, a glint in his eyes; then, Shuriken were flying at them!

Naruto jumped and caught the three that were headed for him and two that were headed for Chouji, who wasn't as fast at reacting as the blond, just barely being able to grab hold of the third heading his way.

Naruto shook his head out of his instinctual trance and looked around, noticing that Hikaru and Haruka were standing near some of the other students with multiple Shuriken within their hands and mild looks of annoyance and disappointment on their faces.

Naruto then noticed that only about half of the class had been able to grab/dodge the Shuriken, the majority being the Clan Heirs.

"Well, that was disappointing," all of the students turned to Iruka, who was shaking his head," you're all training to be Ninja, but you can't even properly dodge Shuriken!" he sighed again with an exaggerated shake of his head.

A certain student suddenly regained their wits and started screeching.

"Sensei!? Were you trying to kill us?!" Sakura questioned hysterically, a panic-stricken look upon her features that was also mixed in with righteous fury.

The girl stopped speaking when Iruka leveled her with a calm glare; she gulped audibly, along with the majority of the class, and withered under his glare.

Iruka opened his mouth.

[Detect KI]'s level has gone up by 1.

"Again, Sakura-chan, you are training to be Ninja. You only have a couple months until the graduation exam and it's my job as both a Ninja of this village and your Instructor to make certain that all of you reach the new average that Genin are now being expected to reach. No longer is just anyone going to be allowed to pass the Academy, only those who work for it and reach the actual level of Genin will be able to become Genin; much better to have fewer Genin that are strong in multiple ways and can survive to Chūnin than to have many Genin that will be too weak to make it to Chūnin either because they just aren't talented in the Ninja arts or because they weren't prepared enough to go out onto the field and got killed because of it."

Iruka tilted his head down slightly, his face becoming menacing.

"Do you want to die before you reach fifteen, Sakura-chan?" he asked calmly.

The girl vigorously shook her head, small gasps escaping her lips.

Iruka nodded at her response," then I suggest you stop complaining. I am doing this in order to help you become stronger, better, and help you find different ways to be useful to the village." He cast his gaze over all of the students, his eyes periodically straying upon different students' faces; he no longer looked menacing, now he just looked serious.

"Not all of you will become field Ninja," he started, causing for many to make sounds of protest, but they all quieted at Iruka's stern look.

"Let me finish. Not everyone is made to go out into the field. You as Ninja will be called to kill, how many of you think that you would be able to kill if the time came without hesitating? I can guarantee that several of you will not be able to kill without hesitating. I know because I have hesitated before killing while out in the field, a decision that had nearly killed both me and my teammates more than once; it's one of the reasons why I'm a Academy Instructor, Hokage-sama decided that I would be more useful to this village by passing on my knowledge of being a Ninja than being an active Ninja; there are all sorts of factions within this village that don't do much out in the field but do other things within the village to help keep it strong in different ways. You can be useful to the village in more ways than going out of it and fighting people, there are all sorts of things you could do in this village, things that we will be elaborating on during History for the rest of the school year, so keep that in mind in the coming months; you have until two weeks before the final exam to decide which profession you wish to be a part of yourself before it is chosen for you based on your strengths and weaknesses."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, opening his eyes they took on their normal warm and friendly look and he smiled at them all, allowing for them to take in everything that he had dumped on them.

Naruto thought over what Iruka said, and found that it made sense. Not everyone could fight really well and some people were more talented in other areas even if they were good at fighting, not only that but he was aware of some of the extra factions in the village that didn't specialize in fighting and had guessed that they were like all the other factions in the village; in the end they were there to help protect and inform the village in any way that they could, it isn't always fighting that can save a life.

Naruto was brought back from his thoughts as Iruka clapped his hands, speaking once again,

"Alright, so today I will be teaching you Chakra Sensing. Now, before any of you ask me what that is, Chakra Sensing is the ability a Ninja uses in order to feel their surroundings by using their Chakra. I myself am a Sensor, someone that has the natural ability to sense the Chakra signatures of those around them. There aren't a lot of natural born Sensors in Konoha, and the Hyuuga clan doesn't count as they have a Doujutsu that allows for them to see Chakra, which is not the same as Sensing. Sensing is merely feeling the Chakra, not just seeing it, I guess you could say it's more comparable to the Inuzuka clan who have heightened senses, do you understand?"

The students all nodded in understanding which made Iruka smile in satisfaction," good, now, another way to use Chakra Sensing is through what I just did to you. Chakra Sensing allows for Ninja to know when a weapon is being thrown at them even if they can't hear it, it's also a form of Chakra control which is why I am teaching it to you today."

A hand shot up into the air and Iruka turned to look at the child it belonged to," yes, Tsubaki-chan?"

The brunette let her hand fall as she began her question," Iruka-sensei, how is it a form of Chakra control?" she asked.

"Well," Iruka began with a smile," it's a form of Chakra control because if you aren't a natural born Sensor then you have to be careful how much Chakra you're using when sensing. Too much and you'll get too much information and that will distract you from what you are trying to focus on, too little Chakra and you won't be able to sense anything at all, or only when it's too late. So I, Hikaru and Haruka will be helping you learn the proper amount to push out, remember, the amount differs for each person as someone like Kiba probably won't need to use as much as someone like Sakura," the boy smirked while the girl scowled in irritation. Iruka, meanwhile, carried on,

"Kiba already has heightened senses so he doesn't need to push out as much Chakra because that could really mess with his already heightened senses, Sakura has more average senses so she will need to be able to push out more Chakra because of that. Does everyone understand?" he asked once again.

Everyone nodded again in understanding which then led to Iruka pairing up different students to work together, one with heightened senses while the other had average or below average senses.

Unfortunately that meant that Naruto and Sakura were paired together.

"Ugh, why do I have to work with the likes of you? Iruka-sensei, why couldn't Naruto-baka work with Shikamaru or Shino or Chouji? Their always hanging out together anyway!" The pink-haired girl whined. Iruka sighed in irritation, but then noticed that Sakura's question had caught the attention of the rest of the class; shrugging he looked to Sakura and explained,

"You and Naruto were placed together because Naruto has heightened senses while you do not. Every pair here is made up of one person with heightened senses and one with average or below average senses so that the one with the more average senses will be able to learn from the ones with higher senses, though me and Hikaru and Haruka will of course be walking around and helping anyone who needs it; and before you can start complaining, Sakura, you can learn something from Naruto."

The girl snapped her mouth shut at that and pouted while Naruto just sighed, strained grin upturning his lips as everyone moved to positions across from each other so that they would be able to throw shuriken and kunai at each other more easily, everyone was also very spread out so that no two groups were closer than two meters to each other.

After that was finished one person in each group put on a blindfold that the Instructors had given them while the other took out either a kunai or a shuriken and readied their position, waiting for Iruka, Hikaru and Haruka to give them a signal to throw their weapons at their partners; the first to go were the more Chakra sensitive people, which made Sakura secretly happy as that meant she would be allowed to throw sharp things at Naruto without getting into trouble.

The girl normally didn't allow for herself to think too deeply of the blond, especially after her mother and aunt had warned her against the boy-something about him being dangerous-they had encouraged her to avoid him and not interact with him if possible, but she was also subtly not subtly told that if she had the chance she should put him in his place, so she has been doing just that for as long as she could remember.

But she has been thinking of the boy a lot recently, not because of what he was doing, but because of what he was NOT doing.

He no longer hounded on her for dates or tried to get close to her or even challenge Sasuke; in the past few weeks Naruto has basically completely ignored her, Sasuke and everyone sans Shikamaru, Shino and Chouji, who he seemed to be spending more and more time with; not only that but he hadn't been wearing his eye searing orange jumpsuit as often, oh he still wore orange but it was rarely the jumpsuit, just his orange vest.

The pinkett was really confused by this display, she was even more confused by the twisting feeling in her chest at the prospect of being ignored by the blond-haired, whisker cheeked boy and she didn't want to understand why!

So, when she saw Iruka give the signal, she put as much strength as she could into her throw and aimed right for the blond's irritatingly silky looking, flowing hair that gently moved with the breeze.

He probably didn't even have to use shampoo or conditioner to get his hair like that! How unfair!?

Sakura was snapped out of her inner ranting when a tan hand caught hold of the fast flying shuriken, and then dropped it on the ground, waiting for the next throw.

Sakura scowled at this and threw another shuriken at the blond, but he merely caught hold of it again and gently let it fall to the ground. The girl actually growled this time while she took out three shuriken and two kunai and threw them at the blond in irritation, smirking in self-satisfaction at the thought that there was no possible way the blond could catch all of them at the same time (completely ignoring the fact that if Naruto wasn't able to catch them, she ran the chance of hurting one of her other classmates).

But, she soon found that she was wrong.

Naruto twirled out of the way, one of his arms shooting out to grab hold of the shuriken, then, with the same hand, he threw two of them at the two kunai that were headed for the backs of both Shikamaru and Sasuke while the third hit the ground; the two shuriken hit the kunai and they altered course, spinning towards the ground when-

*Thunk*

The pointed ends were then embedded in the ground with the final shuriken resting on the ground near them.

"Haruno Sakura!" Iruka nearly screamed; his voice tinged with hysterical anger. He stomped up to the girl, ignoring her blond partner who was pulling the blindfold off of his face and looking at her with a strange emotion in his eyes.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply to Iruka but he didn't let her, cutting her off sharply," what on earth is wrong with you?! Why did you do that, you could have hurt Naruto, hell, you could have killed Sasuke and Shikamaru if Naruto wasn't so fast in reacting to your throws! Are you really willing to kill two of your classmates just to get at Naruto?! Is it really that big of a deal that you have to work with Naruto that you have to try and hurt him?"

Sakura paled dramatically while Iruka yelled at her, realizing that she could have seriously hurt Sasuke with that stunt of hers. But, she shook her head, refusing to take the blame for her actions.

"But sensei! Naruto was-"

"Naruto wasn't doing anything, Sa-ku-ra! He didn't do anything wrong so don't you dare try to blame him for what you did! You have detention for the next month with me Sakura, every day after school ends for two hours, starting today, and that is final!"

"But sensei; I have-"

"I don't care Sakura, unless you are attending a funeral, which I know you aren't, you will be serving your detention no matter what you say, now, come here and apologize to Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru for intentionally putting their safety at risk."

Sakura again tried to get out of it, but Iruka refused to back down and so the girl was forced to suck up her pride and go over to first Sasuke to apologize, and then Shikamaru, and then finally Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto, for intentionally putting you in danger..." she gritted out through clenched teeth, angry that she had to apologize to Naruto of all people.

Meanwhile the blond merely smiled kindly, if a bit strained," I forgive you Sakura; if you have a problem with me please just take it up with me, don't put others at risk to tell me how you feel about me."

Sakura nearly growled at the blond's response, and then she did growl when Iruka bumped her in the shoulder, clearly indicating to her needing to say more, and Sakura knew exactly what he wanted her to do, and she refused to do it! But, after a bit more prodding, and Iruka threatening to lengthen her detention time, she muttered darkly,

"And... thank you for catching my shuriken and kunai before they were able to hit Sasuke-kun and Shikamaru..."

Naruto didn't verbally respond to that, he just smiled again and gave her a thumbs up.

After all that Iruka sighed, shook his head and then called out," alright, Kiba, come over here! You'll be working with Sakura from now until the end of class, and Naruto, you'll be working with Ino, alright?" both of the boys nodded while Sakura groaned in displeasure, frustrated that Sasuke wasn't going to be her new partner.

Naruto made his way over to Ino and smiled at the girl who, though a bit weakly, smiled back.

"Alright everyone, get in positions again please! Once more and then you'll switch!"

A chorus of "hai" was his response and the lesson continued on.

Naruto heaved a quiet sigh as he put the blindfold back on, took up position and waited for Ino to throw her shuriken at him.

A small amount of time passed when Naruto felt and heard the star-shaped knife heading for him; which caused for his natural instincts to kick in which led him to shooting his arm out, catching the shuriken in mid-air.

He smiled in triumph as Iruka called for them to switch positions; Naruto took off his blindfold and handed it to Ino, who looked nervous to be going, but Naruto smiled reassuringly at her which seemed to calm her nerves some, but not as much as Naruto would have liked but he wasn't able to do anything more as Ino pulled the blindfold on and, because he didn't want to distract her, Naruto kept quiet and waited for Iruka to give the signal to start throwing.

Naruto then spotted his sensei raise a hand, which was obviously the signal, and so he threw his shuriken at the blonde girl who actually squeaked and froze in place, not moving out of the way.

So, without thinking, Naruto swiftly took out another shuriken and threw it at the first, causing for them to collide and hit the ground right in front of Ino instead of the girl herself.

Naruto sighed then walked up to Ino, grabbing hold of her shoulders firmly," Ino," he started gently, lifting a hand to take the blindfold away from her eyes; Ino blinked surprised eyes open as she looked back at him with her pupil-less ice-blue iris', then, her face scrunched up into an irritated scowl,

"What is it Naruto?"

Said boy couldn't help chuckling at her response, something of which caused for Ino to flush in reaction (though he didn't notice). He opened his eyes again and answered the girl,

"Let me help you, ne? That's why Iruka-sensei paired everyone off after all, so that we could help each other; so, how 'bout it?" it was then Naruto noticed that Ino's face was flushed, though he couldn't fathom why.

Ino giggled in a nervous sort of way as she looked at Naruto with lidded eyes," s-sure, Naruto, what was I doing wrong?" she asked, forcing control into her voice as she took in a deep breath, she felt her face flush again as Naruto moved around her and grabbed hold of her arms, bringing them into a better position in front of her body.

Naruto was about to move his leg in order to kick hers into a better stance when a ping sounded, pulling his attention to in front of him to see-

Quest Alert:

The Art of Teaching

Teach Ino how to listen and sense an incoming object and up her Chakra Control, but be careful, certain people are watching you and if you make the wrong move they will become angry with you!

Completion reward: EXP 1200

Increased Reputation with Yamanaka Ino +200

+5 to INT

+5 to WIS

C-Rank Scroll on Chakra Control

Completion failure: EXP 500

Decreased Reputation with Yamanaka Ino -250

Decreased Reputation with Hyuuga Hinata -200

Decreased Reputation with Nara Shikamaru -100

Decreased Reputation with Aburame Shino -100

'Why the hell would my REP with Shika and Shino be decreased if I mess up with Ino?' Naruto thought, bewildered and a little panicked as he stared at the screen in front of him, before he just shook his head and thought with trepidation,' uh, accept?' a soft sigh of relief left his lips when the screen disappeared at that, apparently all he had to do was think it, that was good to know.

Pulling his mind back to the present Naruto finished moving Ino's arms and legs, letting go he moved to stand in front of the girl, a look of accomplishment on his face.

"You should try holding your arms like this whenever you expect something to be thrown at you," Naruto pointed to the arm positioned closer to her side," one arm should always be held in a position in order to grab anything coming at you from behind, an enemy might try and trick you into thinking the threat is in front of you when really it's behind you, and standing like this will keep it more relaxed and make it easier to jump out of the way if you have to move suddenly. Also, try to remember to push out Chakra while standing like this, just a little pulse will do, try and pulse it out every other second; do you understand?"

Ino's hands twitched as she looked herself up and down, then nodded at the blond boy," yeah, I get it," she then moved from her position, pulling on the blindfold, then moved back into position.

Naruto was impressed that she was able to remember almost the exact position, he smiled, then, threw a shuriken at the girl.

Another squeak left the girl but she moved her hand out and grabbed hold of the shuriken anyway, though she cut her finger on it. Naruto forced himself not to go over immediately and threw another shuriken, which Ino was able to grab again, this time not cutting herself.

Naruto threw a couple more shuriken and Ino was able to catch all but one of them, which Naruto had been forced to knock to the ground so that it didn't hit her or anyone else; then, Iruka called for them to switch.

Naruto moved forward while Ino pulled off the blindfold, hissing in pain as her cut rubbed against the rough fabric.

"Here," Naruto murmured, gently taking hold of Ino's hand," let me help you." Ino nodded as Naruto moved a hand to his hip pouch, pulling out a scroll and, with one hand, unsealing his small Medical Kit from it. He handed the kit to Ino and asked her to hold it as he opened it and pulled out a cotton swab and poured a little bit of ointment on it, then pressing it to Ino's open cut.

Ino hissed again in pain but Naruto ignored her as he switched hands and grabbed hold of a band aid which he applied to Ino's cut when he was finished cleaning it.

He almost leaned in and kissed the covered wound but stopped himself short, thinking that Ino would probably try to kill him for such a bold and inappropriate act and instead patted it twice, gently, taking his kit back and putting it away again in the scroll then finally back into his hip pouch.

He smiled at the girl,

"There," he said cheerfully," all clean!" he giggled which then caused for a surprised burst of laughter to leave Ino's lips, as she was definitely not expecting Naruto to giggle of all things, which then caused for the two of them to break into loud snickers that they tried fruitlessly to hide.

"And what's so funny you two?" Naruto and Ino's laughing session was cut short as Hikaru asked them, a brow raised as he looked from one to the other.

Naruto smiled cheekily up at the man," ah, nothing Hikaru-sensei, just working off some stress!" Hikaru's brow went further up his head, but then he just shook it and walked away, saying off his shoulder,

"Get into position again you two, we'll be starting again in a minute."

"Hai!" Ino and Naruto called back at the same time, snickering together for a moment before they were finally able to calm down and go back to position, with Naruto putting on the blindfold.

And so for the rest of the lesson Naruto and Ino simply continued to go back and forth with Naruto gently correcting Ino whenever he saw a flaw in her stance or how she was controlling her Chakra until Ino very nearly perfected the exercise by the time Iruka called for everyone to stop and head back into the Academy building.

Naruto leaned back, cracking it and let out a sigh as the pleasurable relief rushed through his body, then he followed the rest of his classmates into the building, when-

Question Completion: EXP 1200

Increased Reputation with Yamanaka Ino +200

+5 to INT

+5 to WIS

C-Rank Scroll on Chakra Control

Bonus; Increased Reputation with Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata +200

You have gained +200 REP points with [Yamanaka Ino] causing for your Reputation to move from "Unfriendly" to "Neutral"

You have gained +200 REP points with [Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata] causing for your Reputation to move from "Honored" to "Exalted"

A Bonus for raising REP with all named individuals has been added to your Inventory

A Bonus for obtaining [Exalted] status' with five people has been added to your Inventory

Naruto let out another sigh as he waved away the screens, still bewildered by the fact that he could have lost some REP points with Shikamaru and Shino for some reason...

Naruto shook his head, putting the puzzling thought out of his mind and ran into the building.

[2nd Period – History; 8:59 AM]

Everyone moved to their seats and waited for Iruka, Hikaru and Haruka to start the lesson.

The three men rummaged around the front desk as they set up for the next lesson, Haruka went to the chalkboard and started writing something down while Hikaru pulled out several textbooks and turned to the class, placing a tall stack of the books on each of the front desks,

"Take one and pass the rest up," he ordered, moving back to his brother as the students did as they were told.

Soon, everyone had a textbook and Haruka finished with the chalkboard, he looked to Iruka who smiled at him then turned to the class," alright everyone, for this lesson, Haruka will be the one teaching you so pay attention to him!"

Haruka startled at this but wasn't able to protest as all of the students obediently responded with 'hai' to their teacher, then moved their focus onto the redheaded man/teen and waited for him to start the lesson.

Haruka remained silent for a moment, but then shook his head and smiled up at his students," heh, well, I wasn't expecting that! Thanks for giving me a heart-attack Iruka-Senpai!" this remark caused a stream of giggles to descend upon the room, Haruka smiled wider," anyway, open your textbooks to page 129, today for History we'll be learning about the Warring Clans Era."

A moment of silence passed as everyone turned to the correct page, a hand shot up as they did so, belonging to none other than Naruto himself.

Haruka looked at the blond then nodded encouragingly," yes Naruto?"

The boys hand fell to the desk as he answered," that was the time just before the Hidden Villages were created, right?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching up in thought.

Haruka nodded his head excitedly," yes, that's right! Now, the end of the Warring Clans Era is just as Naruto said, the start of the Hidden Villages; but that's not what we're talking about today. This particular Era was known as "Warring" because of all of the Ninja clans that were fighting back then, almost all Ninja clans were fighting for one reason or another." Haruka cleared his throat, took a breath, and continued.

"During this period in time the lands of the Elemental Nations were in a constant battle for land, power and opportunity; these fights were largely led by Warlords that weren't Ninja and didn't know any type of Ninjutsu. Some of them were greedy, some of them weren't, but that didn't change the fact that they were all still fighting for the same things. But, they couldn't just send soldiers at each other could they? They'd lose more than they gained that way, which is why the vast majority of these battles were done by shinobi, mercenary shinobi to be precise whom represented their interests. Sadly, this wasn't a time for peace so most shinobi's loyalties were to the highest bidder, meaning that if they were working for someone but another offered them more money, they were very likely to abandon their original client to work for their new one."

Haruka looked at them all with a grave expression, impressing on them how dreary this time period was.

"We as Ninja of Konoha talk of loyalty and peace, mercy and friendship, but this is not what life of shinobi used to be, that is a far more recent event; it's been just over a hundred years since the formation of the Hidden Villages, the Warring Clans Era still has us by several centuries. It was a great time of grief, death, destruction and hatred. There was constant warfare, and because of that, many died young, even younger than most Ninja die today, at most these shinobi only lived to be about thirty, but many died before they could even get to that point; actually, when it comes right down to it, the fact that anyone was able to survive this time period is a miracle. Just a little over a hundred years ago, children were the most likely to die, forced to fight for their clan at a young age and being killed so that that clan would then be destroyed forever, this was a world of hardened adults, and if you didn't grow up fast, you wouldn't make it past twelve at the most."

Haruka paused for a moment, letting that sink in. The room had become deathly quiet, no one wanted to speak as everyone was morbidly fascinated by this time period. The redhead continued on.

"In an attempt to avoid conflict caused by the ever-changing alliances and resulting vendettas, shinobi were in the habit of never divulging their family names to strangers. But, in the middle of all this death and deceit, two young boys met and became friends. They were the Heirs of two of the most powerful clans in the Elemental Nations-the Senju and the Uchiha-they met but never gave their family names, frightened that they would then be forced to fight and kill each other; but this was not to last, eventually they learned of the identity of each other, that being Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage and Uchiha Madara, and were thus forced to never see each other again outside of battle, as any who hired one of the clans their enemy would hire the other, thus was the equal power the two held over the rest of the Shinobi world. The two fought time and time again, but, by the time they were adults peace was achieved, we'll talk more on that later, for now we'll talk about some other things during this Era."

A moment of silence passed, being broken by Haruka clapping his hands with a smile," like, on a much happier note, which clans didn't partake in the Warring, or at least the ones that actively tried not to be a part of it; one of which was the Nara clan," here Haruka gestured to Shikamaru," based on both historical accounts from other clans that have become a part of Konoha, and even some who hadn't, and from the clan itself, the Nara Clan was much like it is now; the vast majority of the clan kept to themselves and only sought to achieve knowledge, otherwise they were doing everything in their power to keep their own clan safe from others. They rarely ever took on jobs that called for them to war against other clans as they were aware how suicidal that was and instead made themselves useful in other ways, so that people would come to them for reasons other than fighting; this then led to the Nara Clan becoming some of the most well-known and best healers and doctors within the Elemental Nations as they had come up with a large variety of medicines, most of which are still used by our village to this day! The Nara was also the first clan to join the newly formed Konoha and pledge their allegiance to the Shodai Hokage.

"Now, another clan that actively tried not to participate in the wars was the Akimichi Clan, again from historical accounts from other clans and from the clan itself, the Akimichi Clan was more concerned with perfecting cooking techniques and feeding themselves and others. They joined Konoha because, in their own words, 'it is the most peaceful of all the villages'. And one moment real quick I'm going to tell you why I've only mentioned two-and soon to be-three clans, and the answer to that is that only these three clans actively tried not to participate in the wars. There were other clans that were more neutral towards the wars but if they were approached with a mission they would generally accept, especially if the client offered them a tempting sum of money.

"And now, finally, the third clan that actively tried not to participate in the wars was the Uzumaki Clan. They were a nomadic people, though they did have a central village in the form of an island off in the middle of the ocean, but a good number of them traveled the Elemental Nations in order to spread their views, which was, actually, peace and prosperity. They were also one of the strongest clans around, but because they weren't the only strong clan around peace could not be attained until the other clans came to an agreement and stopped fighting; also, the Shodai Hokage was married to an Uzumaki, her name was Uzumaki Mito and she was a Fuinjutsu master-as most Uzumaki were-and is the reason why Konoha has such complex sealing arrays embedded within its walls in order to keep it safe; also because of the marriage the Uzumaki Clan was an ally to Konoha, but sadly the majority of the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out because of the Kumo-Kiri-Suna alliance which is why there aren't that many left.

"Little fact, the Uzumaki Clan was able to hold off their enemies for four days straight before they were defeated, it took time first for Konoha to get the distress call, then a little bit more time to gather the troops then to actually get to the island of Uzushiogakure, but sadly by the time they got there everything had been destroyed, the forces of Konoha took care of most of the remaining opposing forces but, as far as we could tell anyway, there wasn't anything left, just a destroyed village with nothing left behind, from what was found the Uzumaki destroyed everything before their enemies overcame them, meaning that any Fuinjutsu, or Jutsu in general, that the Uzumaki had created was lost as they got rid of it all before they were overcome..."

Silence filled the classroom once again for several moments, then, Hikaru cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Konoha suffered much that day and there was much grieving after that, but in the spirit of the Uzumaki, we did not call for a war against the ones who killed our allies, the Uzumaki, though strong, generally did not partake in violence; oh they were a Ninja village just like all the others, but they didn't indulge in things such as revenge and hatred. In the words of Uzumaki Mito herself, 'Hatred, revenge and death just creates more hatred, revenge and death. A never ending cycle that continues, over and over again, to destroy the lives of any that it touches. Hatred and revenge are worthless as they do not solve anything, and so we, as Uzumaki, no, as humans, will look to the horizon with a smile on our lips and hope within our hearts, forgiving those who have brought pain to us, and helping those who are in pain. If the world showed just a little more kindness, there would be far less grief and betrayal within it; but I cannot control the actions of others, only of myself, so I will continue to show kindness to others, even if they won't show the same to me.'..."

There was another moment of silence as everyone digested this new information, Haruka speaking up once he felt his brothers words had sunk in,

"We, as Konoha Shinobi, wear a red spiral on our clothes and uniforms. This spiral wasn't just a fashion choice or because the Hokage felt like we needed a cool symbol to wear, but because of the Uzumaki. The spiral is their Clan Symbol, though originally it was white, and we wear it to symbolize our alliance with the Uzumaki Clan, but to also show our respect for them as, if we were the ones in trouble, they surely would have tried with their very beings to get to us in time to help us, because we were their allies, and there wasn't another clan more faithful and loyal than the Uzumaki. May their souls rest in peace," Haruka bowed his head for a moment and everyone copied him, everyone thinking of this clan that was such an intricate part of their history, but they hadn't even known it, and some of them couldn't help but wonder if there was a sinister reason behind that, specifically regarding the resident Uzumaki of Konoha...

A loud clap sounded in the room which brought everyone back to attention. Haruka smiled as he put his hands on his hips," well now," he began cheerfully," let's get on with the rest of the lesson!"

And with that, Haruka spoke on about different traditions within the time period, exactly how long it lasted, when it truly began and other such things.

It was in the middle of his lecture when Naruto's carefully laid traps were set off, showering down confetti and multicolored paint on both the teachers and the students. It was such a shock to everyone that they all remained silent for a full minute, before chaos ensued and they all began to freak out, many of the girls screeching about how the paint had gotten in their hair, and several of the other students complaining about it getting on the books.

Naruto had to fight hard to keep the grin from overtaking his face as the chaos reigned supreme. His shoulders shook from the effort, his body slowly moving as his eye twitched. He was lucky that everyone was too busy freaking out to notice his reaction to what happened.

Eventually the instructors were able to calm everyone down and get everything cleaned up before resuming the rest of the lesson. Whispers of who was responsible for the whole mess moved through the whole class, the other preteens wanting to all collectively beat the ever loving shit out of whoever it is. But, unfortunately for them, they wouldn't be learning who that was anytime soon so they were instead forced to focus on the class at hand, leaving their bloodlust to be sated another day.

At the end of the class, Naruto let out a content sigh as he closed his textbook, passing it forward back to his teachers as History ended and the five-ten minute break between each class began, though he didn't get to rest his mind long as Iruka called for everyone to go back outside to their section of the training field. Naruto let out a small groan but followed his sensei just like everyone else.

[3rd Period – Ninjutsu; 9:55 AM]

"Today's Ninjutsu lesson will be on how well each of you is at Kawarimi and Henge! We will see where each of you are then help the ones who are still behind or could do better but aren't motivated enough to do better," several people glanced at Shikamaru at this," while those of you who are as far as you can go will be taught a new Jutsu! What that Jutsu is... Well, you'll see if any of you are ready, hmm? Now, everyone form lines in front of each of us, when I tell you to start you will do Henge first then Kawarimi, you will be transforming into the instructor that you are in front of then you will be switching with one of three logs that are over there! Everyone understand?"

A chorus of 'hai' was Iruka's answer as everyone formed a line in front of the three instructors and waited for their turn to show the men how far they've come in both Jutsu.

Naruto was patiently waiting with the rest of his class, when-

"Oh yes, one more thing," Iruka started up again, a grin on his face," you will all be given points, the amount of points you have will affect whether or not you will be learning the new Jutsu, I won't tell you how many points you need, but know that your behavior will also determine whether or not you will learn this Jutsu, this is also a competition, I will announce who won at the end of the lesson, alright?"

"Hai!" they all called back, many of them brimming with excitement, such as Naruto himself who was eager to get first place, but then-

Quest Alert:

Can you be the very best, like no one ever was?

Can you get the highest score in this class? If you do, you'll get something neat!

Completion reward:

If you get 1st place you will receive:

1000 EXP, 100 REP with every classmate, Jutsu Scroll (B)

If you get 2nd place you will receive:

750 EXP, 50 REP with every classmate, Jutsu Scroll (C)

If you get 3rd place you will receive:

500 EXP, 20 REP with every classmate, Jutsu Scroll (D)

If you get 4th place or lower you will receive:

100 EXP, 0 REP with every classmate

Completion failure:

If you get last place you will receive:

10 EXP, -50 Rep with all classmates (Note: Those with Honored or Exalted REP's will not be affected)

After looking it over Naruto nodded to himself and pressed the (Y) and waited for his turn to perform. While doing so he discretely watched Shikamaru and Shino perform and noticed that while they were about the same in the use of the Henge, Shino was better at Kawarimi, causing for Shikamaru to huff in irritation, but luckily for him they both passed and were directed to stand to the side where everyone who was deemed good enough were told to wait to be taught the new Jutsu.

Soon after this Naruto was at the front of his own line so he took a deep breath, calmed his mind and lifted his hands to do the hand seals, then-

POOF!

Where Naruto once stood was now the redheaded Haruka, not a hair out of place. The Chūnin looked back at the once-blond in both approval and awe before he then gleefully wrote something on his clipboard and, with a grin, instructed," okay, great! Now, do Kawarimi!" poofing back to his original form, Naruto grinned back at the man as he once again did the hand seals, disappearing from sight as a log with a bright red streak painted onto it took his place, only for Naruto to once again replace himself with it. Haruka then laughed in glee while jotting something else onto his clipboard, a merry," you pass!" passing his lips as he eagerly gestured for Naruto to join the group to the side.

Feeling excitement at the prospect of learning a new Jutsu forming in his gut, Naruto happily nodded and dashed over to the group, purposefully bumping shoulders into Shino and Shikamaru who both looked happy at his passing.

"Good job, Naruto-kun," Shino murmured as he carefully adjusted his glasses, a smile stealing across his lips.

"That was the best Henge and Kawarimi I've ever seen, good going." Shikamaru praised, raising a hand up and ruffling Naruto's hair. The blond giggled happily, not even caring that he was caught giggling as he was too happy at the praise so kindly given to him. Scratching at his cheek Naruto gleefully responded,

"Yeah, thanks you guys! I guess I'm just that awesome, dattebayo!" he laughed good naturedly at his own exclamation, proving that it wasn't one made with ill intent or in arrogance and his two friends started laughing with him, happily lost in their own world.

Unluckily for them, that meant that they had caught the attention of their sensei, whose new mission was to make certain that any and all of his students that were to be put on the field belonged on the field, so, his eye glinting, Iruka discreetly reached within his hip pouch, withdrew a kunai and let it fly.

It all happened within a split second.

One moment the three preteens were happily talking, then the next, Shino and Shikamaru found themselves being bodily shoved out of the way by their blond companion.

They turned to him, about to demand why he had shoved them, when they stopped short, eyes widening at the sight of blood dripping from Naruto's throat, a kunai sticking in the side of his neck.

All movement stopped for what felt like an eternity, but then,

"Oi, Iruka-sensei, why'd you do that, dattebayo?! You could've killed someone!" Naruto's voice rang out in the open air, and everyone collectively started to breathe again.

Meanwhile Naruto turned to his teacher, removing his hand from his neck, it being free of any cuts; everyone then realized that Naruto had moved his hand over his throat in order to protect himself from the killing blow, and the boy did not look pleased.

Iruka shook his head in order to clear it before responding," You weren't paying attention to your surroundings, so I was rectifying that," he stated simply. Naruto scowled at him before he stuck his tongue out,

"I too was paying attention to my surroundings! If I hadn't moved then you could've gotten Shika or Shino! So I was paying attention, you're just being an ass!"

At that proclamation the entire class erupted into surprised and muffled giggles as Iruka stared at the blond boy in surprise. He was snapped out of his shock as Naruto ripped the kunai out of his hand causing for a spurt of blood to start trailing down his fingers to the ground.

"Naruto!" more than one voice yelped in surprise and concern, one of them coming from Iruka himself; but with a shrug Naruto merely reached into his hip pouch and pulled out some tape bandages and wrapped his hand up-knowing that the wound would in no time be completely healed but he also knew better than to show that strange ability off to everyone there-so, with another shrug, Naruto nonchalantly spoke,

"Calm down, I'm fine and it'll heal in no time, no need to fuss over it," he finished as he then again glared at his teacher," but there wouldn't have been any need for concern in the first place if someone hadn't been a jackass!" he quipped, causing for Iruka to narrow his own eyes at the boy while his lips twitched, the man attempting to fight the smile such words would usually cause.

"Well," he replied as he continued to fight down his grin," I am your instructor, it's my job to make certain that all of you are prepared for the field, which means that you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times and have the ability to appear relaxed and unattentive in order to put your enemy or anyone watching you into a false sense of security so that they will make a mistake that you will be able to capitalize on. Something of which you seem to have mastered, Naruto, I wasn't aware of you being able to do that!"

Raising a brow at the man, the boy stuck his tongue out," and did it ever occur to you that that was my intention?" with a lift of his shoulders Naruto turned away from the man, surprise once again etched across his face, soon followed by one of contemplation as Naruto went back to talking with his friends.

After that little display the tests continued on as usual until all of the students had been tested.

Taking only a moment to look over his clipboard, Iruka pointed to the group of students who had succeeded and directed them away from the rest of the class," alright, you guys will be following me so that I can teach you the new Jutsu while the rest of you will remain here with Hikaru and Haruka; they'll be helping you with the Kawarimi and Henge, alright?" several sounds of acknowledgement came from the unfortunate group before the two groups were led to different parts of the field so that the practising group would be able to concentrate and not try and learn the new jutsu.

"Alright," Iruka called out once they were far enough away, causing for the preteens following him to stop. Grinning at them, Iruka began.

"Today, I will be teaching all of you the Kanashibari no Jutsu, it's a Jutsu that will allow for you to temporarily restrain your opponent , giving you the perfect opportunity to deal the finishing blow or take them into custody if that is the goal for your mission. Now, would anyone like a demonstration?"

Naruto, along with the rest of the group, nodded their heads, Naruto being a tad more eager than the rest of his classmates. Giving them a grin Iruka lifted his hand in the needed seal as he focused his sight on Naruto, the blond then being filled with a feeling of dread, having a feeling he knew what was going to be happening next….

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" Iruka called out, and as he did Naruto felt, restrained somehow. It felt as if he had been tied up with ropes and he thought that just had to be the case; but when he looked down he saw that he wasn't, that there wasn't anything holding him except for-

His eyes widened as he spotted tiny threads of blue energy curling around his frame…

"...And that does it! All you need to do is focus your attention on your opponent and control your Chakra and you will be able to restain them!" Naruto was snapped out of his staring at Iruka's voice, taking notice that the blue threads faded from his body and he didn't feel restrained anymore.

Naruto then started swinging his arms around and wiggling his body to make certain that nothing had remained restrained.

"Wow, I can't wait to learn this so that I can make Naruto sit still for once."

Startled out of his focus Naruto threw a nasty glare at Shikamaru who was unrepentantly smirking right on back.

"What? It's true, you can never sit still for longer than five seconds, it'd be nice to not have to deal with that for once."

Eye twitching, Naruto threw his head to the side petulantly, quietly muttering," if you hate it so much then just sit somewhere else, ass," Shikamaru opened his mouth to respond, but was unable to as Iruka let out a cough, giving the two a look clearly stating that now was not the time.

Huffing, Shikamaru kept his mouth shut, but threw Naruto a glance that said that they would be talking later while Iruka started back up.

"So, each of you will be practising on each other and you'll have until five minutes to the end of class to practise, so grab a partner and get started!" at that the group of preteens made a mad-dash for a partner, not wanting to end up with someone that they didn't get along with.

Naruto himself chose Shino, grabbing him by the shoulder the blond let a smile bloom across his face as the other boy nodded his consent to the choice.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru let out a sigh as the named boy barely turned to look at him. Shino subtly shook his head at the brunet, telling him it wasn't the time to be talking about it, so Shikamaru moved away to stand with Choji, his chosen partner, and started with the practise.

Shino grabbed hold of Naruto's hand and pulled him away from the other two boys, and once they were far enough away from them they started to practise.

It was a lot harder than Naruto expected it to be. The Kanashibari Jutsu was one that was based primarily on Chakra control, which meant that for someone like Naruto to get it, they had to either have a very weak version or an over the top version that could both be spotted from a mile away and be more or less easily disrupted if you knew the different ways to disrupt a Genjutsu.

Case in point, even though Naruto was able to perform the jutsu and it looked like it was strong as it tightly wrapped around Shino with thick blue ropes; the other boy was pretty easily able to break it as he had the best Chakra control in the entire class.

Letting out a huff of irritation Naruto moved back into position, attempting to calm his heartbeat and breathing so that he could better concentrate; but that concentration was cut into as Shino performed the jutsu on him, binding him in place with his Chakra.

A low growl built up in Naruto's throat, irritation once again filling him as he tried to break the binds holding him, but he couldn't. He couldn't move and he couldn't get out and he couldn't break them and couldn't, couldn't, couldn't!

"RRRAARG!"

Naruto screamed in frustration, his Chakra bursting out as he thrashed in place, trying to get rid of his restraints. As he did wind started whipping around him as his own Chakra latched onto Shino's covering his body, causing for it to latch onto Shino himself, the boy being pulled about by Naruto's Chakra as it lashed out in his frustration.

"Naruto?!" Shino shouted in alarm as he attempted to remain on the ground, barely able to hold himself there with Chakra as Naruto's wild, and far stronger, Chakra attempted to lift him from the ground.

Iruka, who had noticed what was happening, made his way over to the blond boy, attempting to calm him from his frustration.

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted, arms over his face to protect it from the dust flying around the boy.

"Naruto, stop it!" a new voice called over the howling winds, causing for Iruka to look up, spotting Shikamaru as he made his way over to the blond boy, far closer than Iruka himself was. Panic welled within the man-no, Shikamaru could get hurt!-and he tried to lift an arm while shouting at the preteen,

"Shikamaru, no! Stay away from him, he's not stable!" it killed the man to have to say such a thing, but Naruto was too far gone in his own frustration that he wasn't paying attention to the people around him, unwittingly putting them in danger from his violent Chakra.

But, Shikamaru didn't listen, only moving closer and closer to his blond-haired friend.

Using his Shadow in order to move closer to Naruto, Shikamaru was having it latch onto the ground so that he would be able to move forwards, against the strong winds being whipped up by Naruto's Chakra.

When he was finally within arms reach Shikamaru grabbed hold of his friends' shoulders, pulling him back so that he was flush against him. Reaching his hands down, Shikamaru pushed his own Chakra into Naruto's hands; attempting to use his own Chakra to calm Naruto's down.

It was a bit hard as Naruto was still struggling, but those struggles slowly ceased as Shikamaru pushed more of his healing Chakra into Naruto's. It wasn't too long before the winds whipping around them stopped and Naruto remained still against Shikamaru, his breathing harsh and ragged as he attempted to catch his breath.

All was still, no one moved as they cautiously watched the blond boy for any more outbursts, now weary of the boy as they all collectively remembered that he had large Chakra reserves. So it was with bated breath that they watched Naruto as he calmed, his breathing becoming calmer and his body losing it's tense lines.

Harsh breathing filled his ears and he couldn't quite understand where it was coming from. It was also incredibly hard to see, everything was blurry images and swirling lines. Hands tightened around his wrists. He jerked forwards in reaction.

"It's okay, it's just me…" a voice whispered in his ear. Naruto lifted his head some as he registered the body at his back. He wanted to panic, but he couldn't, the Gamer ability forcing his mind to refocus instead of being stuck wherever it had gone.

Vision returning, Naruto took one final breath, his body tightening once more before letting go of it's tenseness. He straightened his back and the hands holding his wrist loosened their grip, gently falling away as he took a step forward and away from the body at his back.

Turning his head, and then his body, Naruto spotted Shikamaru standing there, concern having taken over his features. He offered a weak smile, but couldn't do much more than that.

The silence persisted; unwavering until Shikamaru shifted in place. His hand lifted towards Naruto before falling at his side. He offered his own smile, kind and genuine in nature, it warming his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, filling the silence at last.

Naruto nodded, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck, a sheepish laugh falling from his lips in the process," yeah… just lost control there for a bit." he turned his head to look behind him, finding Shino standing right where he had been this whole time. Naruto could practically hear his heart beating erratically and it pained him, knowing he was the reason behind it.

Turning his body the rest of the way, Naruto took a hesitant step towards the other boy, and felt a pang in his heart when he flinched away from the motion. Remaining still, Naruto offered his best, most sincere smile, holding his arms out on his sides to show that he meant no harm, but also not making another attempt to get closer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, well, lose it like that…"he shook his head, took another calming breath and renewed his smile," I just, lost control… again… I'm sorry for putting you through that; are you okay Shino? I didn't hurt you, right?" The Aburame shook his head in the negative, carefully holding his arms out to the side so that Naruto wouldn't think that he was lying to him by hiding his injury.

Naruto nodded his head, a sigh of relief escaping him at the sight, a small smile upturning his lips.

That smile was dashed, however when Naruto brought his other foot forward, Shino flinched back again, his body taking a loose fighting stance.

It were as it he was stabbed in the heart. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but look at Shino, his vision blurring around the edges as everything in him remained still, afraid of moving again, afraid of seeing that fear creep back into Shino's body.

Forcing breath into his lungs Naruto allowed for a wobbly smile to grace his lips. Closing his eyes, Naruto forced the smile to turn into his normal idiotic grin and countenance into his body and face, throwing his feelings of pain and regret to the background.

"Ah, I'm glad, Dattebayo!" he exclaimed in his usual jovial tone, his body feeling emptier the longer he grinned, the longer he stood there.

Forcing feeling back into his limbs, Naruto backed away, keeping his eyes closed, keeping his heart closed. He didn't want to be near anyone, he didn't want to talk to anyone. But he couldn't leave, not yet, so he moved over so that he would be by Iruka.

Naruto didn't allow himself to look at anyone's face, knowing exactly what he'd find there and not wishing to see it, for there was only one thing that would be on his classmates faces.

Fear.

Fear or pity.

And Naruto hates pity. It was just another reason for people to see him as less and it hurt almost as much as the fear and hatred. So, he refrained from looking at their faces, kept himself from noticing their reactions, detached himself from everything, so that he wouldn't be able to feel at all.

Iruka clearing his throat brought everyone back from the incident. The man let out a sigh," alright, time to get back to work…" looking down at the top of Naruto's head, the man knew that no one would be willing to work with the blond, and that the blond was most likely in no mood to work with anyone either. So, with another light sigh, the man spoke back up.

"Naruto, you'll be working with me for the rest of the exercise, Shino, you'll be working with Shikamaru and Chouji, will that do?" at their nods of consent Iruka sent his own back," good, now, everyone back to work!"

A chorus of 'hai' was his answer and back they went to practising the Jutsu, this time though they kept sending glances in Naruto's direction, whispering gossip following the looks.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything about the looks, or the gossip, Iruka instead focused his attention back onto his favorite student. Naruto still hadn't moved since he had stopped in front of him, his head bent low at an angle and keeping his gaze from landing on anyone.

It was something that Iruka had never seen from his most hyperactive student and so he didn't quite know how to handle the situation. Trying to think up a way to cheer Naruto up, or at the least make him react to anything, Iruka was genuinely caught off guard when Naruto started to speak, his voice chillingly devoid of emotion.

"So, were you telling the truth that I'll be working with you, or are you just going to make me stand here and wait till class is over?"

Turning to look at him, Iruka felt a pit form in his stomach at the look of detached apathy on the whiskered face of his most hyperactive and jovial student. He understood now, that trying to cheer Naruto up wouldn't be an option, at least for now. Now he needed to keep to his word.

With a resolute nod, Iruka answered," yes, let's get started now, shall we?" Getting into position, Iruka started helping Naruto with the Kanashibari Jutsu, the Jutsu that had started this whole mess.

Gradually, over the course of the rest of the class, Naruto was able to slowly bring himself back to the present, away from his detached emotions and pain, and back to focusing on mastering this new Jutsu, a new determination filling him. He would overcome this Jutsu, he would beat it and he would never, ever allow for something like that to happen, again.

Carefully keeping his breathing even, and his mind clear, Naruto focused on breaking out of the Jutsu, using his Chakra and placing it on the surface of his skin in order to break the bonds of Iruka's own Chakra. It took some work and control but he was eventually able to break out. He wasn't satisfied yet, though, his face remained pinched in determination as he conjured up his own Chakra, throwing it at Iruka and binding the man in place. Annoyingly his Chakra was still visible but with his clear mind and careful control, he was at the least able to make it strong enough to make it difficult to break out of, something of which that was proven as Iruka took longer than he had the first time to break free of Naruto's hold.

This kept up with Naruto gradually getting better before Iruka called for an end to the practice and directed everyone, including the students who weren't learning the new Jutsu, back together so that he and his assistants could make their final assessments.

Naruto didn't move towards his friends, he instead stood off to the side, closer to the instructors but away from the his classmates as he knew that they all still felt uneasy of his presence-not like he could really blame them-and instead focused his attention on the clipboards in Iruka, Haruka and Hikaru's hands, watching as their mouths moved in their quiet conversation.

But, eventually Naruto's own energy filled body wouldn't allow for him to remain still, so he started looking around himself in order to keep his overabundance of energy in check.

While he was doing this, he spotted Sasuke and decided to check out his current Level, though he was fairly certain he already knew what he would be finding there-

Uchiha Sasuke – Academy Student – LV20

Letting out a sigh of resignation, Naruto couldn't keep the frustration and feelings of being inadequate from entering his body. Yeah, he was already Level 15 himself, but no matter how hard he tried, Sasuke always seemed to be three steps ahead of him. Sasuke had been the strongest in the class when he had first gotten this ability, but even with Naruto's extra training and his new focus on being a better student Sasuke was still above him.

Shaking his head, Naruto knew the real reason why he was focusing on Sasuke like he used to. It was because he didn't want to think about the possibility of losing his friends.

He knew he had fucked up, and fucked up good. Shino was scared of him now, no doubt Chouji was as well; he didn't know how Shikamaru felt about him, but it couldn't be anything good, no doubt he was trying to come up with a tactful way to let Naruto down easy on the end of their friendship.

Clenching his teeth, Naruto mentally berated himself for his thoughts. He had no right to ask them to remain his friends when he couldn't even guarantee their safety while in his presence. No right to expect them to be willing to throw caution to the wind and willingly put themselves in danger just to satisfy his own damned needs! Scrunching his eyes closed, Naruto shook his head of the thoughts plaguing it. Now really wasn't the time to be thinking about this! He needed to refocus on the task at hand and deal with whatever consequences to his actions later.

So, with renewed resolve, Naruto lifted his head and focused in on his instructors, and it appeared to be just in time as they were all turning to look at the whole class, clearly stating that they had come to a final conclusion.

"Alright everyone!" Iruka called out to catch the classes attention. "We've tallied up all of the points and we've decided on the top three best performers!"

Everyone crowded forward in anticipation, wondering who the top three best students in this challenge were. No doubt Sasuke would be in first place, that was a given, but who would be in second and third place?

"So, in first place, the one who got the most points today is…"

With bated breath, everyone leaned forwards in anticipation, but were genuinely surprised at the reveal.

"... Aburame Shino!"

Shocked gasps filled the clearing as everyone turned to look at the trench coat wearing boy. It was hard to tell his own reaction, but not to Naruto who was able to see that he was just as surprised as everyone else was at winning the competition and while he wasn't participating in the excitement himself, Naruto was quietly proud of his friend.

Letting a smile curl his lips, Naruto sent Shino his own congratulations in his mind, knowing that it would most likely not be that well received if he tried to do it personally. Shaking his head of such thoughts, Naruto reminded himself that it wasn't all about him and that he needed to focus on his friends victory.

The excitement quieted down after a moment which allowed for Iruka to reveal the other two best students.

"Okay, in second place we have…" a grin flitted over his lips as he gestured with a flourish of his hand," Uzumaki Naruto!"

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"...Eh…?"

"WHAT?!"

The class all shouted in unison.

None of the preteens could believe their ears. How had Naruto gotten a higher score than Sasuke?! It had to be some sort of fluke! But none were more surprised than the blond boy himself. Naruto had pegged himself as last in the roster after his freak out; he had not only lost control of himself but he had placed a classmate in unnecessary danger! So why was he in second place?

Taking a step forward, Naruto raised his hand, determined to get answers.

"Yes Naruto?" Iruka questioned with a knowing smile. Naruto squared his shoulders, steeling his nerves in preparation for the conversation to come.

"Um, Iruka-sensei? Why am I second? I thought that after my, uh, freakout, that I would've lost all of my points and be last place, especially since I put Shino in danger…" trailing off at the end, Naruto forced himself to look in Iruka's eye, even though he wanted to look away in shame.

Watching Iruka's face for any sign of anger or disgust, Naruto was surprised when instead the man started to chuckle, his amusement apparent to all that were looking.

With a grin spreading over his face, Iruka answered the blond. "Hm, I had a feeling you'd be curious, and that you'd ask instead of just accepting it-" raising a hand to stop Naruto from commenting on that, Iruka continued,"-and that's one of the reasons why you were given that position."

Now Naruto just looked bewildered. Shaking his head, Naruto turned confused eyes upon the scarred man," what's that supposed to mean?"

Laughing good naturedly, Iruka moved towards the blond while answering," it means that you have a good attitude, Naruto." Stopping in front of the boy, Iruka reached a hand out to ruffle it through the soft blond locks of Naruto's hair. Tilting his head to the side with a crooked grin the man continued,

"Yes, you had a freak out that could have put your other classmates in danger, you had even put your friend in danger! But, Naruto that isn't who you are." He leaned down some, looking straight into Naruto's widening eyes. "Naruto, I think I know why you lashed out in the first place, it was because you don't like the feeling of being restrained, is that correct?"

With a shallow nod of his head, Naruto gave his answer. Iruka smiled softly, before that smile turned into a grimace," and," he pushed," would I be correct in assuming, that the reason you had such a wild reaction to being restrained, is because you have been restrained before, haven't you?"

Flinching back from the man, Naruto turned to look away, shame and the shadow of unpleasant memories clouding his eyes…

Shadowed figures stood over him as his back arched off of the table, his breathing coming in quick gasps…

Everything hurt, everything was dark… he couldn't see right in front of him but he could feel the ninja wire constricting his movements, could feel the bodies surrounding him.

He blinked his eyes hard, trying to see, trying to catch a glimpse of these people, but all he saw was, an ANBU mask?

No, not ANBU… a mask like ANBU…

"Am I correct Naruto?"

A sharp inhale of breath was all the indication that Iruka got, but it was answer enough for not just him, but for anyone paying attention.

Letting out a sigh of regret, Iruka reached his other hand out, gently gripping Naruto's shoulder.

"Another reason you got second," Iruka continued on, hoping to distract the boy from the shadows of his past," is because you had gotten the highest score during the first portion of the class. You're Henge and Kawarimi are the best I've ever seen! If it weren't for you lashing out then it's very possible that you could have gotten first, but Shino did do very well during both the first portion as well as the second, so who knows?" letting out a laugh, the man was relieved when he heard Naruto's own laughter following after.

Naruto's signature grin was back on his face and the boy couldn't keep it from forming. He really did deserve to be second, despite everything, he did deserve it.

"And the final reason you got second," Iruka abruptly started talking again, causing for Naruto's eyes to snap open in surprise. A grin stretched over his lips," the final reason is, because you are honest. Most people wouldn't have questioned why they got rewarded after misbehaving, but you did. I knew you would because despite all of your pranking and mischief, you are an honest person, an honest person who unfairly measures himself against his classmates."

Naruto looked taken aback at those words, as did the rest of the class who were all listening in. A look of determination overcame Iruka's face as he pushed forwards, not allowing for Naruto's look of disbelief to sway him.

"Naruto, you not only have wild Chakra but an overabundance of it, trying to control it would be hard for anyone, let alone a kid like you. But you treat your failures of controlling yours like someone who has considerable less amount of Chakra who has a hard time controlling theirs as the same thing when they aren't. You were born with large reserves of Chakra, and because you didn't have someone there to help teach you how to control it when you were young-or even when you first started coming to the Academy-you never learned the basics of control; so learning them now when the rest of your classmates already know how to do it just makes it harder, but you are honest Naruto so you have measured yourself against people who are weaker, Chakra wise, than you, because that's what everyone else does."

Shaking his head, Iruka straightened his back, looking down at Naruto with his eyebrows creased in frustration.

"But you aren't like everyone else." he stated firmly.

He held up a hand before Naruto could start yelling at him, which the blond seemed to be two breaths away from doing." Naruto, you are the only child in this entire class that has the amount of Chakra that you do. No one, not Sasuke, not Chouji, not Shino, has anywhere near the same level as you. Why do you think I was always able to find you so well? You have an overabundance of Chakra that, if left unchecked, is easy to find. The amount of Chakra you have would be hard for a Jounin to control and mask, let alone a kid who hasn't been taught the basics whose Chakra is still growing and will continue to grow to be at least three times the size it is now by the time you turn twenty! You are a hard worker Naruto and We, Hikaru, Haruka and I, will all be helping you learn how to control your Chakra, but what you were able to do with it today, despite your lack of training, was admirable, so the three of us decided that you deserved to be in second, despite the freak out and the weaker control, because you deserved and earned it. Do you understand?"

Throughout the explanation, Naruto's look of anger had slowly transformed into one of awe. Opening his mouth, he tried to say something but found no words forthcoming. His mind refused to supply anything and so all he could do was stand there and stare at the man standing before him.

After a moment Iruka let out a chuckle and pat Naruto on the head," I said, do you understand Naruto?" he repeated himself, his grin full of mischief as he did.

Shaking his head to bring himself back from his confusion and surprise, Naruto allowed for his own smile to light up his face. "Heh, yeah Iruka-sensei! Thanks, Dattebayo!"

Question Completion: EXP 750

Increased Reputation with every classmate +50

C-Rank Scroll on Ninjutsu

Increased Reputation with the Konoha Twelve +20

Chakra Control level Increased by 1

Penalty; Decreased Reputation with all classmates -25

Decreased Reputation with the Konoha Twelve -10

Naruto wanted to be upset at the penalty, but couldn't really muster up the feeling. It was his own fault for getting it so he would just have to work harder in order to gain back the points.

With renewed determination brewing, Naruto listened to find out who was in third place. Considering that Sasuke was in neither first nor second, Naruto guessed he'd be in third at least.

"And third place is… Nara Shikamaru!"

'Well, I guess not then,' Naruto thought as everyone started shouting in surprise, Sasuke's fangirl's being the loudest. He watched as Shino and Chouji congratulated Shikamaru on his success, who seemed to be even more surprised than Naruto had been at his placement. But he took it with grace and thanked his friends for the kind words.

After that it was revealed that Sasuke was in fourth place, and the boy wasn't all too happy about it. But there wasn't anything that he could about it so after a bit of huffing and puffing on his part, they all moved on until everyone within the class had been placed.

And so, after all that was over and done with their break started. All of the preteens moved around into their friend groups to talk before the next class started.

Naruto looked on in longing at his own friend group, but noted with a pained grimace that none of them moved to get him, they didn't even turn to look at him, so it was with a sigh that Naruto started to make his way to his own secluded corner of the field.

But he was stopped on the way.

Looking up, Naruto met the warm brown eyes of his sensei. The man smiled down at him, telling him softly," I believe that it would be for the best, at least for now, that you stay with me. Wouldn't you agree?"

Nodding his head to that, Naruto hummed his reply and so walked over to where the teachers were standing together, each of them talking of casual subjects that Naruto didn't feel the need to inject himself into.

And it was within a couple minutes that the class was called back together by the instructors, who started on the next lesson.

[4th Period – Genjutsu; 10:45 AM]

"Okay everyone! Today in Genjutsu we will be learning how to spot, and dispel a Genjutsu that you are put under. We will be using the D-ranked Genjutsu Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu in order to teach you this."

Murmurs of excitement and worry built up within the crowd of students; mildly put at unease at the name of the Genjutsu that was to be placed upon them (it was, after all called Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu) so it was with trepidation that the class of preteens were directed to stand in groups of three, each of them being instructed on how to break themselves, and their partners, out of a Genjutsu when it was placed on them, which, just like during their Chakra Control exercise earlier in the day, they wouldn't be made aware of when it happened.

Not much happened during the class. There were a couple of hijinks that took place, but they were primarily performed by the teachers in order to throw everyone off so that they wouldn't know when they were put under a Genjutsu. These antics ranged from silly to traumatizing in order to keep everyone on their toes, forcing them to pay attention and learn how to tell the difference between a Genjutsu and reality.

Naruto wasn't all that bothered by the hijinks, as he quickly discovered an interesting ability of his-

A special skill has been unlocked.

By being subjugated to Genjutsu with it not affecting you, the skill "Genjutsu Immunity" Lv. 25 has been unlocked.

Intrigued, Naruto stealthily looked up the Skill in his Skill List and read it's description.

[Genjutsu Immunity] [Passive] [Lv. 25, EXP: 155]

Genjutsu are illusions to be feared. They trick one's mind into believing a false reality-a false reality that is made in order to put the one under it in grave danger. But you are immune to such things!

-Immunity to Genjutsu Rank D

-Immunity to Genjutsu Rank C

-Immunity to Genjutsu Rank B

-Ability to recognize Genjutsu Rank A-S raised by 45%-25%

-Increases [Chakra Sensing] by 15%

Naruto was quite giddy at the prospect of this Skill. From what he could remember from his hazy and blacked out memory, Naruto had been forced under Genjutsu by others before, and it had always been a terrible experience; those glowing red eyes still haunted him…

But seeing as this Skill had been locked much like his Empathy Skill had been, he was starting to wonder if the damned [?] was doing more to him than he first thought…

Deciding to look into it later, Naruto focused the rest of his time of the class into sensing when one of his Sensei activated a Genjutsu, in order to get back into the hang of recognizing them-being immune is good and all, but most people didn't have that luxury, so Naruto wanted to be able to recognize a Genjutsu when it was being used so that he would be able to break his comrades out of it if the need arose.

And so the class passed relatively fast for the blond as he observed all of his classmates react differently to the Genjutsu being placed on them. But soon enough the lesson was over and so they all started making their way back inside. But then Naruto accidentally ran into Sakura who turned around and gave him the stink eye.

"Watch where you're going!" she barked. Naruto nodded his head quickly while holding his hands up in surrender.

"Ah, I'm sorry, didn't mean to, 'ttebayo!" he smiled weakly in an effort to placate her. Sakura huffed and was just about to turn away again when Naruto, making up his mind with a rush of determination (and some desperation), called out," wait, I have something to ask you, Dattebayo!"

Sakura looked back at the boy, eyebrows drawn low on her forehead in a scowl, her jaw was stiff, as if she were clenching her teeth, and she responded through those clenched teeth," what?"

Naruto smiled pleasantly back at her while he allowed for his hands to fall to his sides and relaxed his posture, his smile turning into a grin,

"I was wondering if you would like to hang out later; just hang out! I'm not asking you out on a date! I just want to hang out, y'know, like friends do!" he waved his hands in front of him as he explained himself. Sakura looked at him in surprise and wonder, and Naruto thought, for a moment, that she just might accept his offer.

But then, she shook her head harshly, as if she were dislodging her previous thought, and glared at the blond, snidely saying," what in Kami's name brought you on to ask me that, you little freak?! I've told you before and I'll tell you again; I will not go out on a DATE with you! Now, stop asking me you idiot! When will you get it through your thick skull that I don't like you, I have never liked you and I never will like you! You're just an annoying, good-for-nothing, waste of space, IDIOT that just can't get it through his head that he is the most unlikable person in this entire village!? Now leave me alone and never bother me again!?"

Everyone was silent, stunned by the pinkett's outburst, none more than Naruto himself, who was looking at the girl in surprise and hurt.

But then, his features darkened, his lips pulling into a frown and his brows scrunching up in anger.

And for the first time ever, he spoke back to Haruno Sakura.

"I wasn't asking you out on a date, Sakura," his voice was quiet, his stare unrelenting as he carefully continued. "I very clearly said that I just wanted to hang out as friends, I wasn't asking you out on a date!" his teeth clenched in his frustration before a spark of realization zapped through his eyes, lighting them up with even more anger." In fact, all I've ever done was ask you if you wanted to hang out! You seem to be under the delusion that I have a crush on you!" His stare hardened as he finally understood, after all this time, what he should have realized long before.

"I. Don't, 'Ttebayo!"

Shaking his head, he fixed her with a different look in his eyes, one of pain, and exhaustion," I don't think I ever have. The first time we met, yeah, I thought you were pretty, but that doesn't mean I had a crush on you! Maybe both of us confused my feelings for what they weren't, but I can say with extreme clarity now that I most definitely don't feel that way about you! The only reason I've been 'chasing' you for a relationship at all was because I thought you'd be a good friend! Don't you remember how we first met? It was before the Academy!"

Bringing a hand up to his chin, Naruto over-exaggeratedly started looking around in question,

"Now, let me think, what was happening when we first met? Oh! That's right! You were being BULLIED by a bunch of kids for your pink hair! They were going on and on about how someone with pink hair couldn't be a Ninja because they'd give them away! They all left you alone after I stepped in and told them to fuck off, saying that plenty of well-known Ninja, including the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage, had brightly colored hair and that the color of a person's' hair didn't determine whether or not they were good Ninja! Do you remember that, Sakura?"

The girl suddenly looked uncomfortable, answering Naruto's question,

"Oh, of course you remember! After that I told you that I was also going to be going to the Academy to be a Ninja and you said that we could be friends! You said that you couldn't wait to start the Academy and have a friend be there with you! I was also excited; just think of it, my very first friend! But then-"he cut himself off, shaking his head he sighed harshly, dispelling his anger in an instant.

"Y'know what?" he started up again," I don't care." He walked past the girl, stopping and turning to look at her," Sakura, if one day, on the very off chance that you change your opinion of me, I mean, when you actually start thinking for yourself and not just what dear mommy and aunty have told you about me I might be willing to be your friend, but until then, I'm done. I'm done putting up with your abuse, telling myself that you don't really mean it, I'm done acting as if it's' okay for you to act that way, or that it's okay for me to act that way..." he sighed," I'm just, done." And with that, he walked into the Academy building.

Everything was quiet, no one knew what to say, before Shikamaru and Shino snapped back to reality and rushed after their friend.

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They found him in a closet; the one that Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji would hide in when they were coming up with pranking ideas. After they hadn't been able to find him in the classroom, Shikamaru had told Shino to follow him, as he had a feeling he knew where the blond would be.

Pulling the door open, the two brunet's looked down to see the shiny blond hair of their friend, tucked in a corner with his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. His chin was tucked behind his arms, so they weren't able to see his mouth and nose and his normally bright azure eyes shone dully.

Shikamaru was the first to enter, kneeling in front of Naruto.

"Naruto...?" he called softly, but the blond only turned his eyes away.

Shino then entered the room, closing the door behind him to give them privacy, and he too kneeled before the blond boy.

"Naruto-kun...? Are you okay?" he asked softly, carefully reaching a hand out and laying it on his elbow.

Naruto flinched away at the contact, pulling his body in more tightly, stiffly.

Shino felt as if he had been slapped in the face, nausea clogging his throat and coiling his stomach. He was almost angry at Naruto's reaction, wanting to reach out and bop the blond on the head for doing such a thing. But Shikamaru grabbing him and looking at him both sternly and meaningfully brought him back to himself.

He was a bit confused by the way Shikamaru was looking at him, his eyes telling him he had no right to be mad, and Shino just couldn't understand why!

Shikamaru, in turn, grabbed Shino by the back of his head and forced him to look at Naruto, really look at him, causing for even more confusion to enter him, why would Shikamaru make him look at Naruto? He didn't understand and as his frustration mounted his Kikaichu started buzzing loudly beneath his skin.

Naruto flinched back again, pushing himself into the corner of the room even more fiercely, a low whimper rising from his throat.

Shino felt as if he were slapped again, and this time he understood why.

"Oh, Naruto..." he choked out of his clogged throat, the blond's response merely being him shifting away from him again, as if he were frightened that he would strike him, and Shino felt a deep sorrow settle in his stomach.

He had reacted in a similar way not two hours prior. He had at first felt justified in his reaction, but he knew now that he hadn't.

Not that his initial reaction had been wrong, he had been manhandled by Naruto's Chakra and it had been terrifying. So wanting to take some time from being around him after such an ordeal was understandable, Naruto himself would most likely agree to that.

But the way he had acted after couldn't be excused.

He had purposefully kept his distance from Naruto. He should have tried making an attempt to reassure Naruto that he was fine now, that he wasn't scared of him and that he just needed some time away from him in order to properly calm himself.

But he hadn't.

Instead he had cruelly kept away from him, not looking at him or allowing for him to approach him. He didn't let Shikamaru bring him up and Chouji had taken his side, telling the Nara that Shino deserved some time to come to terms with what had happened, not knowing that Shino had already come to terms with it, he just wanted to sulk in his own misery and self-righteous anger for a while longer.

He had selfishly toyed with Naruto's emotions to make himself feel better about what had happened.

And now, he felt like shit for doing it, rightfully so, he reprimanded himself.

Yes, Naruto had terrified him and very nearly hurt him.

But it had been an accident.

An accident that he had apologized immediately for. But Shino wanted to selfishly hang onto his fear and sulk over what had happened, actually hoping that it was tearing Naruto up inside-Naruto was kind, he was forgiving, he'd be willing to forgive him and would no doubt accept his sulking after Shino was done-and he had been planning on talking to Naruto later, but now he hated himself for what he had done.

Looking at Naruto, really looking at him, Shino saw that he was trembling, his sides heaving up and down quickly though he couldn't hear any heavy breathing. He was hiding his pain, Shino understood with a stab to the heart.

'Enough is enough!' he thought resolutely and reached out his hand and gently placed it on Naruto's shoulder again. Looking from the corner of his eye, he noticed that Shikamaru hadn't moved to grab his hand away this time, letting him finish what he had started with a raised, and knowing, brow.

Shino nodded to him in thanks before turning his attention back onto the blond he was touching, the boy continuing to not look at him, though his trembling had increased, causing for Shino to scoot towards him. Shino didn't let up, didn't pull his hand away, waiting for Naruto to acknowledge him and look at him. He almost wanted to back down, but he couldn't leave things the way they were, he didn't want Naruto to suffer anymore than he already had. But he wouldn't budge, so Shino started talking softly, laying down everything for Naruto to see, wanting him to know that he wasn't angry with him, that he had already forgiven him.

He explained with a heavy and pained heart that he had purposefully stayed away in order to hurt him, something of which caused for Naruto to stiffen even more under his touch, but Shino didn't back down, wanting Naruto to understand that it wasn't his fault, and that he didn't blame him for what happened, and that if Naruto was angry with him, well, he had every right to be. What he did was mean, no, it was cruel, and he didn't want Naruto to forgive him if he didn't want to,

"...And if you want to continue being friends… I'm open to that, but please, don't misunderstand what I am saying. If you don't want to forgive me right now that's fine. I will remain your friend if that is what you want. If you do want to forgive me I'll be very grateful…"

It took a little time, but finally Naruto started to lean into Shino's hand, uncurling his arms and letting his legs fall open as he reached up, wrapping them around Shino's back, tugging him closer as his trembling vanished. Shino felt a lump form in his throat as tears pricked his eyes. Lowering his head so that he was resting his cheek on the crown of Naruto's head, he tightened his hold, rubbing his back as quiet gasps attempted to escape him.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered into Naruto's hair," I'm so, so sorry..." He breathed out with a sniff. He took a moment to hold Naruto to him, to apologize over and over again, all the while Naruto gently caressed his back and hummed in encouragement, which helped Shino from losing his head.

After a couple minutes of this Shino finally loosened his hold, pulling himself away from Naruto, though he kept his hands on Naruto's shoulders, and tried to look him in the eye, but couldn't as he was looking down with his eyes still closed.

"Naruto-kun?" Shino called out in worry. The boy didn't respond, only leaning away from Shino in order to lean against the wall, his eyes still closed.

"Naruto-kun?" he called again, the worry growing bigger.

And yet he still got no response.

"Naruto."

Shino was surprised to hear Shikamaru's voice sound right next to his ear, but he didn't turn to look at him as his full attention was on the blond, wondering if Shikamaru's call would get him to react.

It seemed to work because this time Naruto responded.

He took in a calming breath then lifted his head, opening his eyes he looked at Shino, the azure orbs shiny with unshed tears. It was a little hard for the Aburame to see them in the darkened room so he pulled off his glasses, causing for Naruto's eyes to widen and for a soft gasp to leave him, reaching his hands up and touching Shino's face gently.

He smiled.

"You really do have beautiful eyes…." he murmured softly, running his thumb under Shino's eye gently.

Shino responded by running his hands up Naruto's arms until they rested on his hands, he smiled and squeezed the smaller hands within his own, murmuring a thank you to the boy.

They sat like that for a long moment before the pain of not wearing his glasses got to be too much and Shino had to put them back on. Naruto looked to be disappointed but he didn't protest it, he simply rubbed his fingers over Shino's cheeks before trying to retract his hands. Shino didn't want that and so grabbed them and placed them back on his face, smiling encouragingly.

"It's okay," he murmured, breath ghosting over Naruto's skin," I don't mind…" he smiled warmly.

Naruto let out a strange noise as his face steadily got darker in embarrassment, something of which Shino was only just barely able to see because of his glasses, which caused for him to want to take them off again though he knew he couldn't. So instead he scooted closer to Naruto, actually sitting down on his bum instead of continuing to kneel and letting his legs come near Naruto's.

The blond lifted up his own legs and allowed for Shino to place them even closer in a more comfortable position, which resulted in Naruto's feet to almost meet near Shino's butt, his thighs touching Shino's knees.

Leaning against the wall Naruto wrapped his arms around his stomach, his eyes carefully taking in first Shino, and then Shikamaru.

Having remained quiet and still, for the most part, Shikamaru finally let out his held breath in a sigh. He scooted closer to the blond and other brunet, his left leg going under Shino's and his right behind Naruto in the space between the wall and his back, he leaned into Naruto's personal space, resting his head on the blue-eyed boys' shoulder, sighing again as he asked," are you okay?"

Naruto placed his cheek on top of his, nodding his head," yeah," he whispered," just…" he seemed to have a difficult time continuing, but then Shikamaru pressed his face into Naruto's neck, letting his fingers trail up Naruto's shoulder and to the back of his neck, softly messaging there.

Naruto let out a breath of content as he started up again," I'm s-sorry Shika…" he murmured with a sniff, Shikamaru let out a noise of confusion while allowing for his other hand curl around Naruto's bicep.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked lowly, continuing to message Naruto's neck.

Naruto let out a hum of content as his body slowly became less tense, his eyes closed again as he sagged against the wall.

"Nhm, about-about earlier… before we started learning the Kanashibari Jutsu, what you said… what you said wasn't mean. But I got angry at you for saying it…" he trailed off again, and Shikamaru could hear his breathing start to become erratic again so, in one swift movement, he gathered Naruto into his arms, just as Shino did, the two of them pulling him close as they squished him to them, which caused for Naruto's legs to be hiked up higher over Shino's thighs, his body being pressed from the front and his side.

Naruto's eyes snapped open in surprise, a small gasp leaving him as Shino wrapped his arms under his and around his back, and Shikamaru wrapped his around his shoulders, pushing Naruto's face against Shino's neck in the process.

Naruto gulped before lifting shaking arms to wrap around Shino's shoulders and Shikamaru's bicep. He hiccupped before speaking up again.

"I-I know it was just supposed to be a joke… and I know I overreacted, but…"his voice cracked, leaving him gasping as his body continued to tense up like a wind-up toy, and at any moment he was going to pop.

"It's just that… people, before you, before I really got to know you, th-they'd get cl-close to me, just so that they could h-hurt me…" he sniffed," and I… I didn't wanna get hurt again…"his body started jerking as choked sobs left his mouth.

Shaking his head, he pushed his face into Shino's shoulder as barely contained sobs wracked his body.

"I-I'm so-sorry! I shouldn't have done that to you, Shika, I knew, I knew that you weren't trying to be mean, that it was just supposed to be a joke, but, my mind, it decided th-that that was your way o-of letting m-me know that, that our friendship was over, that you didn't care anymore!"

Shaking his head again, he clutched even tighter to his two friends, his breath coming in sharp gasps that left him breathless.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru whispered, feeling his throat clog with his own emotions. He wanted to pull Naruto even closer, but he couldn't, it was physically impossible to pull Naruto even closer than he already was. But he couldn't help but want to! He wanted to hold and comfort his friend, his crush, the person he cared so much for it was almost painful, and make all of his suffering go away.

But he can't. And he knows he can't, and that's what made it so frustrating.

So instead of pulling closer, he lifted his head from Naruto's neck, leaned forwards and pressed a firm kiss right behind Naruto's ear.

"It's okay…" he whispered there as he gently started to rock his body, Shino swiftly following suit.

"We're here…" he murmured, placing another kiss on his head.

"... I'm here…and I won't leave you… no matter what, Naruto..." Shikamaru felt a burning flush spread over his cheeks at his own words. It felt as if he were confessing to the object of his affections with those words. And though he felt the need to pull away, to take those words back in fear of being rejected, he held on strong, because fuck what he was feeling, Naruto needed him and those words and Shikamaru would freely give them, even if they came to bite him in the butt later!

"As well as I," Shikamaru was snapped out of his inner turmoil when Shino spoke, the other boy had moved his hand so that it wasn't only wrapped around Naruto's back, but was also holding Shikamaru's arm that was wrapped around Naruto's shoulder.

Shikamaru gulped hard all the while Shino continued.

"We are here, and I will not leave your side, no matter what!"

Shino spoke firmly, his face scrunched up in a serious frown for a moment before he leaned forward again, guiding Naruto's head so that it would rest on his collar bone. He placed his chin on top of Naruto's head, humming a soothing lullaby in order to calm him.

Shikamaru could feel Naruto's body start to lose it's tenseness, though his crying didn't cease, he was just not sobbing uncontrollably now, his face still tear stained and his eyes shedding those tears.

Letting out a sniffle Naruto allowed for his eyes to fall shut as he leaned his face fully into Shino. His breathing was stilted and a little off, but he was starting to calm down.

Blowing a soft sigh into Naruto's skin, Shikamaru placed another kiss behind Naruto's ear before repositioning his face in Naruto's neck once again, carefully rocking his body as Shino continued to hum his lullaby.

The three remained that way for quite some time. Even after Naruto had calmed and his crying had petered out into soft sniffling, they remained squished up into each other.

It was when Shikamaru felt on the verge of falling asleep from the pleasant atmosphere that Naruto started to move.

Lifting his head, Shikamaru saw Naruto carefully start pulling away from Shino, and given the limited space between him and them, he wasn't able to get very far. Letting out a quiet sigh, Naruto turned his eyes first upon Shino, then Shikamaru, a small, though genuine, smile upturning his lips.

He leant forwards and brushed his nose against Shino's neck, then turned and pressed his cheek to Shikamaru's.

"I think…" he trailed off, smile still firmly in place as Naruto looked at his two companions. "I think we should get to class, 'Ttebayo…"

The other two boys nodded their agreement and, after untangling themselves from each other, got up from the floor and left the closet, heading to their classroom.

[5th Period – Elemental Nations History; 11:42 AM]

"…...Hyoton that allows them to create ice by combining-oh, you're back now huh?" Iruka cut his lecture off as Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto entered the room, none of them looking sheepish or sorry for their tardiness. Iruka raised a brow at that but decided it wasn't worth his time reprimanding them over it and so only gestured to their seats," well, go to your seats please, I think the rest of us would like to finish this lesson." And so the three swiftly made it to their desk, sliding in next to Chouji who looked relieved at their arrival.

Iruka let out a sigh as he shook his head, continuing the lesson.

"Anyway, back to what we were talking about; the Yuki Clan is a clan from Mizu no Kuni who used to reside in Kirigakure before what is called the "Bloodline Massacre" took place. The "Bloodline Massacre" was where the Mizukage put a call out for all active ninja in Kirigakure to kill anyone that had a kekkei genkai, stating that they are the reason for all the wars that they had gone through, but, we'll cover more of that later. For now we're talking about the Yuki Clan. It is currently unknown if any of this clan is still alive, as they were one of the first reported clans to have been wiped out because of the Mizukage, but since they were a clan of ninja it wouldn't be impossible for some of them to have escaped and go into hiding. The Yuki had the Hyoton kekkei genkai, which allowed for them to create ice by combining the Elemental Chakra water and wind….."

And Iruka continued to talk to them about the Yuki Clan, along with little tidbits about Kirigakure, like how it was known as 'The Bloody Mist' and how they have the Seven Swordsmen.

Finally, the class ended and it was then time for lunch.

[10 minute lunch break – 12:40 PM]

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as lunch period started.

His face felt a little dry from all the crying he had done, and his throat was sore and dry, but he paid it no mind as he, along with the rest of the class, pulled out his bento, taking it from his Inventory. He carefully made certain that no one saw him (especially the three boys sitting with him) and opened it, cheerfully digging into the lunch he had worked hard to prepare himself.

"Whoa, Naruto, where'd you get that?!" the blond was snapped out of his thoughts by Chouji, who was looking at his food in what appeared to be awe and envy.

The blond couldn't help but laugh," I made it, I live alone y'know-well I did until Kira moved in-but that's beside the point! I can cook; it's sort of a necessity for me, I've been doing it for most of the time I've been in that apartment, 'ttebayo." Chouji tore his eyes away from Naruto's food to look him in the face,

"But you still eat cup ramen, right? If you can cook, then why do you still eat that?" he asked, confused. Naruto merely shook his head,

"Baka, food costs money and I have to use most of my money to pay for my electrical and water bills, the rest goes to anything I might happen to need, like food, but food is expensive and cup ramen is really cheap and it lasts a long time, so I just buy it in bulk then use it whenever I might need it! Anyway, I'm hungry so I'm going to eat, Dattebayo!" and with that he started picking up the pieces of pork in his Bento and ate them.

He stopped when he felt Chouji's stare still on him. So it was with a sigh that Naruto turned to Chouji and raised his Bento," want some?" he asked with a raised brow, but his annoyance left as he started laughing when Chouji nearly dove for the box, hastily picking up some of the food and eating it.

Once the rotund boy got some in his mouth he stiffened up a moment, which worried Naruto that it tasted bad, but before he could say anything, Chouji turned to him, a strange look on his face, then, and this is the weird part, he grabbed Naruto's hands in his own, holding them up to his chest and he, in the most serious voice anyone had ever heard the hefty boy use, asked-

"Uzumaki Naruto, will you marry me?"

Complete silence.

"...What?"

"Will you marry me?" Chouji asked again, just as serious as before.

Before the blond could respond though…

"The hell Chouji?! Where'd that come from?!" Kiba called from across the room, his eyes sending the fluffy boy daggers as he tried to subtly gesture at Hinata who looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. But Chouji merely ignored them, paying attention only to Naruto, causing for the Inuzuka to get pissed off and to march over," Chouji-"

He was cut off by said boy, who had taken some of Naruto's food and stuffed it into Kiba's mouth, making him stop talking.

There was a moment of silence before Kiba was also holding onto Naruto's hands, the same strange look on his face as he asked in all seriousness," Naruto, marry me?"

"What?!" Naruto yelped, a feeling of dread overcoming him, telling him that this was far from over. Several other people started to question the two boys, to which their response was to feed them Naruto's food. "OI, THAT'S MY LUNCH!?" which then caused for even more people to grab hold of Naruto's hands, and ask for his hand in marriage.

Only thing is, they couldn't all hold onto Naruto's hands at the same time which then caused for them to start fighting over Naruto's hands which then caused for Iruka to break them up.

"What on earth are you brats fighting over?! It's just food-"

And Chouji stuck some of Naruto's food into his mouth.

The man paused for a moment...

Then, he leaned over, about to grab hold of Naruto's hands, when-

"No!" the blond screamed, jumping away from the crowd, a look of confused anger on his face," I will not marry any of you!? You marry someone because you love them, not just because they're good cooks or because you think they're pretty! Do any of you actually like me that way? Or do you just like my cooking?"

That seemed to snap the small crowd of males out of it and they all looked to be both embarrassed and shamed by their behavior, each murmuring an apology.

Naruto let out a sigh,

"Whatever, it's fine-" he cut himself off, then, his face grew thunderous as he glared at the group in front of him," actually, no, it's not fine, you aTE ALL MY FOOD YOU ASSHOLES!?" he screamed while thrusting his Bento in front of them, showing everyone that it was completely empty.

They all gulped and leaned back as Naruto's glare grew stronger.

"You better fuckin' get me some lunch, or I just might have to stab a bitch," he muttered through clenched teeth, his eyes making it clear that it would be one of them that was the bitch that would be stabbed.

The small group then scattered in order to gather food for the blond, taking some from their own lunches and putting it into Naruto's Bento, after which he nodded his head to them, sat down, and started eating, completely ignoring everyone around him.

The only interesting thing that happened after that was Naruto throwing Shikamaru and Shino the stink eye when the two started snickering loudly, the snickering turning to full blown laughter after the shock the situation wore off.

Letting out a huff as a blush started creeping him his face, Naruto turned away from his friends in annoyance, muttering something about traitorous friends and how everyone was out to get him under his breath.

[6th Period – Taijutsu/Weapon Handling; 12:50 PM]

After lunch was over everyone was rounded up once again and directed outside for the start of their next lesson.

"Alright everyone, for today we will be focusing solely on Taijutsu. Next time we'll be doing more on weapon handling like in previous days, but today we will be focusing on your Taijutsu styles. Now, those of you who only know the Academy Taijutsu style make a group over here, and the ones who are creating their own or know another style on top of the Academy style make a group over there!" Iruka looked at the two groups that were made and saw that the students who didn't know another Taijutsu style made up the largest group, something that wasn't surprising to the man; besides people in clans, most people (especially Civilian born students) didn't think about creating or learning a new Taijutsu as it would never cross their minds to do so-the Academy was there to teach them so they thought that they would learn everything from the Academy without having to look elsewhere for guidance-which resulted in mostly only students from Clans knew any other styles.

"Okay then, I and Hikaru will be helping this group," he gestured at the larger group," with refining the Academy style and help you guys start learning a new one. Haruka will see the rest of you perform your current styles and help you refine them in any way that he can; alright everyone?" the class made noises of confirmation and Iruka nodded before heading over to the larger group.

Naruto watched as the redhead came over and smiled at them, before asking them to line up and show off their Taijutsu style," I'll help or give you pointers if the need arises, alright?" and once everyone was situated he called out," alright, Sasuke-kun you may go first."

But just as the other pre-teen nodded-

Quest Alert:

Best Stance!

It's time to show off your Street Taijutsu Style and show everyone what you're made of! Who knows, you just might get some new admirers if you can pull it off!

Completion reward: 1000 EXP

Taijutsu Scroll (from) Umino Iruka

Increased REP with class +30

Increased REP +10 with the Konoha Twelve

Completion failure: 100 EXP

Decreased REP with class -20

Decreased REP -5 with the Konoha Twelve

After finishing reading everything Naruto pressed the (Y) button before refocusing on Sasuke and his showcasing of his Taijutsu style.

Taking in the slow and deliberate yet somehow stiff movements that Sasuke showcased Naruto came to the conclusion that this was a style learned from a scroll and not a person otherwise Sasuke's movements would have been much smoother-he was one of the best students for a reason-but Naruto kept that information to himself as he watched Haruka write something down on a clipboard before giving Sasuke some pointers,

"You should loosen up your shoulders some, otherwise you could end up hurting yourself, okay?" Sasuke glared at the older teen in reply for a moment before turning his head to the side, nodding without looking at Haruka.

This merely caused for the teen to laugh as he moved onto the next student, watching them perform their style before moving onto the next-Naruto was happy to note that both Shikamaru and Shino did very well with their styles-and then finally it was his turn.

"Alright Naruto-kun, show me your style!" Haruka said with excitement, his eyes dancing merrily.

Naruto grinned largely before focusing on his movements, swiftly moving his arms and legs as he kicked and elbowed the air, showing off his unique street brawler ninja style and putting his all into it.

Once finished Naruto took in a breath then turned and looked Haruka in question," how was it?" he asked, mildly worried that he hadn't done well or that it wasn't good for an actual fight. Haruka looked at him a moment before a large grin graced his features; he hurriedly wrote something down as he answered,

"It was excellent Naruto-kun! You had good form and it was loose to allow for fast movements! I've fought many Shinobi and I don't think I've ever seen someone use that particular fighting style-what is it? Did you find it in a scroll or did someone teach it to you?" he asked in interest.

"Ah, well, I sorta came up with it myself," Naruto stated a bit hesitantly as he scratched at his chin nervously; which increased as Haruka looked at him with sparkly eyes, a large smile blooming across his face.

"Really? That's amazing! How did you come up with it? Were you inspired by someone to do this?" he asked in quick succession. Naruto looked a bit overwhelmed, having to take a moment to sort through all of the questions in his head for a moment,

"Uh, I came up with it because… I had to? Y'know, I live by myself and I live smackdab in the middle of what you would call the 'Red Light District' so I had to learn how to, y'know, defend myself… and some of that is really just the dirty way people fight there. You can't fight fairly down there so I had to learn how to fight dirty…"

Naruto trailed off at last, not having anything else to add. Haruka looked stunned for a long time, as if it hadn't occurred to him that that could be a reason for someone to come up with a unique fighting style. This just made Naruto think that most people forgot that the reason well known genius' came up with their own unique and well known styles was out of necessity, in order to protect themselves and others by using all of their strengths to their advantage, not just because they were genius' and so therefore they came up with an amazing fighting style.

Naruto let out a small cough to bring Haruka back from his stunned state, and the teen looked embarrassed to have been caught so off guard.

Letting out a nervous cough of his own, Haruka let a strained smile curl his lips. "That, uh, that makes sense… Ahem, anyway, moving on… Naruto-kun, you have an amazing and unique style! I've seen some brawls in my time, mostly in other towns, but your style didn't make me think of those times. It has a strong basis in what makes up most fighting styles; using every strength to your advantage! You are very flexible and I can see you using that in your style, you also seem to have firsthand experience which has shaped this style into more than just a brawlers style!"

Giving the blond a thumbs up the teen gained a true smile," all in all, it's a pretty great style! Just a quick pointer; having a strong foundation is always important, so I'll be helping you with that today, okay?" smile widening at Naruto's nod of affirmation, Haruka finally moved on.

Directing the group of preteens to stand side-by-side with about two feet separating them, Haruka asked for them to just stand in their default fighting stance so that he can move down the line and help physically correct them. And just as he said, Haruka helped Naruto with building a stronger foundation to his style, a foundation that was similar to the Academy Style, something that Naruto picked up on rather quickly.

Objective completed: Awarded Exp 1000

Increased REP with class +30, Increased REP +10 with the Konoha Twelve

Naruto felt a little triumphant grin take over his face which was quickly followed by a look of confusion, as he remembered that one of the rewards for completing the Quest was getting a Taijutsu scroll… so why didn't he get a scroll?

"Alright class, gather around please!"

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by Iruka's voice, so even though he was still confused, he made his way with the rest of his classmates to the center of the field. Once they were all gathered together, Iruka clapped his hands together to garner their attention, the smile alighting his face one of pride.

"Well, everyone you all did well today! For those of you who have finished mastering the basics of the Academy style we'll be spending the next couple weeks helping you create or learn a new style to compliment your personalities and strengths. For those of you who already have a fighting style, whether learned or created, we will be helping you adapt them to be able to fight anyone or anything. Some of you will also be getting special instruction where you will be incorporating a brand new style into your current one. So on that note, the names I call out please come forward to receive a scroll from me!"

As the man finished Iruka pulled a scroll from his hip pouch, opening it and releasing it's contents to reveal a small table with a pile of scrolls on top of it.

Letting another smile touch his face, this one in reassurance, Iruka went on to call out the names of the chosen few.

"Nara Shikamaru! Aburame Shino! Hyuuga Hinata! Yamanaka Ino! And Uzumaki Naruto!"

At his name being called Naruto heard the rumble of displeased voices move throughout the class, hearing more than one of them say that it should have been Sasuke getting such an opportunity, not the "Deadlast" Naruto. But he didn't let those words sway him as he walked up to Iruka, the man's eyes turning soft as he gave him one of the scrolls.

Giving a grin in reply to the kind look, Naruto discreetly put the scroll that he had received into his Inventory under the guise of putting it into his hip pouch.

Once that was done and over with, Iruka clapped his hands again to gain the attention of students.

"Alright, now with that out of the way, class is dismissed! Please make your way to the obstacle course everyone, we will be beginning shortly!"

[7th Period – P.E; 1:45 PM]

Obstacle course & track running + the terrain of other nations

As they still had about five minutes before the next class started everyone leisurely made their way to the obstacle course situated behind the school building.

As they all made their way over, Naruto took notice of a group of preteens leaving the grounds as they neared, coming to the easy conclusion that one of the other classes had just finished using it.

Just as they were at the threshold of the area, a woman with long black hair broke away from her group of preteens and made her way to Iruka, pushing up her glasses on the way. Realizing that this woman was most likely the Instructor of the previous class Naruto was just about to pull his attention away from her when the woman looked at him.

It wasn't so much a look though, as a glance but Naruto noticed all the same; how could he not, when she was looking at him like that? Naruto felt his chest tighten as the glare of this woman lighted upon him, telling him exactly what she thought of him and his existence.

Heaving in a quick breath, the blonde preteen forced his eyes away. Sidestepping so that he would be closer to his friends, Naruto kept his eyes cast downward as he knew that if he made the wrong move, that woman would try and get him into trouble.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to be in the mood to cause trouble and so she continued on to Iruka, ignoring Naruto and his group of friends as she called out to him, asking to speak with him a moment. Glancing up, Naruto saw Iruka nod his head in confirmation before waving his assistants and the rest of the class away," we'll be just a moment," smiling warmly he turned away from everyone with the lady and spoke with her quietly.

The rest of the class, including Naruto and his friends, made the rest of the way to the obstacle course that lay in front of them, stopping to talk as the class had yet to start.

"Did you do something to make her hate you?" Chouji suddenly asked while they were waiting. Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru all turned to look at the rotund boy in shock. Shrugging his shoulders, Chouji pursed his lips at them," what? People only usually look at Naruto like that if he's pulled a prank on him! I was just wondering what he had done to make her hate him so much!" shrugging his shoulders again with a light flush flashing over his face, Chouji forced his attention on Naruto, waiting for an answer.

Naruto stared at the rotund boy for a long minute before he shook his head harshly, glaring at him lightly.

"Nothin', unless you count existing as doing something…"

Chouji appeared surprised at his response, but Naruto didn't allow him to comment as he continued speaking.

"I've only seen her once or twice, now that I think about it, but I don't even know her name, let alone anything else about her besides that she's an Instructor like Iruka-sensei and a woman." he shook his head and looked away from Chouji, glare lightening some.

"...whatever, it doesn't matter in the end, let's just get over to the obstacle course…" with another shake of his head he started to walk away to the obstacle course, Shino right behind him while Shikamaru lagged behind with Chouji.

He looked over at his long-time friend, a strange look on his face that slowly morphed into an understanding smile.

"I know it's easy to forget, but remember when those kids tricked Naruto into going into that forest even though they knew that there were enemy ninja there? They did it because they knew that no one really liked Naruto. They knew that he would probably die if he went, but they told him to go anyway. Remember what they said? That he was a nuisance and that their parents had told them that Naruto deserved to die?"

Chouji gained a sickly green color as he nodded his head in understanding.

Another strained smile made its way onto Shikamaru's face as he shook his head in disgust.

"Yeah… I know it can be easy to forget, based on the way Naruto acts sometimes, and just for the fact that, in any case not involving Naruto people don't act the way they do towards Naruto unless they've done something to deserve it, but Naruto's a special case. I don't know why, but they're people that seem to hate him just 'cause it's him; not because he's done anything, just that, if it's Naruto, then he must deserve everything that everyone throws at him."

Shaking his head again, Shikamaru let out a quiet sigh," just, don't assume I guess? Don't assume that people don't like Naruto because he's done something, because their have been plenty of people that have mistreated Naruto just because he's Naruto, and not just because he's actually done anything wrong… anyways, let's catch up with them, yeah?"

And with that Chouji and Shikamaru ran up to stand with Naruto and Shino, Chouji apologized to Naruto about his assumption and after Naruto said that he forgave him they dropped the topic altogether and instead focused on wondering aloud how the obstacle course would be altered for their lesson that day.

After a time of Iruka and the lady instructor talking, the class got back on track and started the obstacle course, each run around being spaced by short lectures about the terrain of the other lands, with Iruka, Haruka and Hikaru using Suiton and Goton Jutsu to change the terrain to allow them to experience the terrain themselves.

With how interesting and entertaining the lesson was time flew by and before everyone knew it, the class had ended and they were all herded up to head back into the classroom for the final lesson of the day.

[8th Period – Extra-curricular; 2:40 PM]

Hatake Kakashi – Jack-of-all-trades Nin, what it means and how he's useful to the village

"Alright everyone, calm down!" Iruka called out, attempting to quiet his class.

Iruka allowed for his eyes to sweep over the whole of the room as he made sure that everyone was in their place before with a flourish of his hand he gestured at the tall, lanky man standing beside him, a grin over taking his features as he announced,

"Everyone paying attention? Yeah? Good! Now, this is Hatake Kakashi! He will be the extra-curricular instructor today! He, like the others, will tell you what position he holds in the village and how his particular skill set is useful to the village!"

Naruto was fidgeting in his seat, brimming with excitement as he looked at Kakashi, who stood there Iruka with an air of aloofness, something of which Naruto knew for certain was only a facade. Catching the man's eye, Naruto grinned with all his might, expressing his joy at seeing him again. Kakashi merely inclined his head, his own eye curving into what Naruto knew to be a smile before he refocused his gaze back on the whole of the classroom.

Bowing his head with an eye-smile, Kakashi started.

"Hello, like Iruka-kun said I am Hatake Kakashi. I am an Elite Jounin of the village, and the position that I hold in the village is that of, well, I guess you could say that it's Jack-of-all-trades. I am very talented in most fields of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu as well as others. In these fields I tend to lean towards Nin and Tai, but that doesn't mean I am incapable of using other forms of Jutsu. Are there any questions?

Through the rest of the class, Kakashi was asked various questions by Naruto's classmates, some inquiring about his age ("that's a need-to-know thing, and you don't need to know!") his exact skill level, how many missions he's taken over his entire career as a Jounin and anything else they could come up with.

Kakashi also demonstrated some Jutsu to them, showcasing that he was proficient in all the elements, which Iruka reminded that within a couple weeks they would all be learning their elemental affinities, as well as asking some of the more Taijutsu leaning students to show him their styles so that he could give them some pointers.

Soon enough, time was up and the final class of the day ended.

"Ah, I can't wait to get to the training field! What are we gonna do today Naruto?" Chouji called out to the blond haired boy.

Naruto looked up in thought, finger on his chin as he thought about his answer, walking with his friends as they all started to leave the classroom.

"Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto stopped at Kakashi's call, turning to look at the silver-haired man with a questioning gaze, Naruto's three friends stopping as well in the threshold of the classroom.

Offering an eye-smile, Kakashi inclined his head," follow me, the Hokage wishes to speak with you." He stated simply, reaching a hand out to Naruto in an obvious gesture for the boy to take it. It didn't take long for the inevitable to happen-

Quest Alert:

The Hokage's Request

The Hokage has specially asked for your presence concerning something of great importance! But, you have to go to find out what will happen! Will you go?

(Y) Yes (N) No?

'Strange,' Naruto mused to himself, irritated with the lack of information. He stared at Kakashi's outstretched hand once again, before glancing back at his friends. They all had looks of surprise on their face, as if they couldn't comprehend what was happening before them. But then Shikamaru shook his head, gesturing with it for Naruto to go on.

And so, with a quick grin, Naruto turned back to Kakashi and took the man's hand, and, with a poof of smoke, the two disappeared from the room.

Uzumaki Naruto - The Gamer; Player 2 - Jinchuuriki - LV16

Steamy: Well, that's the end of that one.

Translations:

Kanashibari no Jutsu = Temporary Paralysis Technique

Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu = Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique

Sorry again about the late update! Hopefully the next one won't be as long of a wait.

I'll get back to you guys another time.