Somewhere I Belong, AKA Thousand Hands (Naruto AU)
Naruto teams up with (Fem-)Sasuke, known as Uchiha Biwako. This story won't have pairings until the involved characters are well into their teens. Even if they share a bed, it's innocent (they're eight!)
Inspired by Ginjaa Ninjaa’s ‘History repeats itself’, with his blessing (he's on FFnet). This is also my second try at a Mokuton (Wood Style) Naruto story. Yeah, Mokuton Naruto is a cliche blah blah, yadda yadda. I know.
First two chapters beta-ed by Ginjaa Ninjaa.
Naruto was born to his canon parents, but one of them is descended from Hashirama; you'll see how later.
-----
Two children by a lake; a moment of understanding. Such a thing can change the world.
-----
Naruto made eye contact with his classmate, the one he thought was named Biwako. In her eyes, he could see the same pain he felt all the time, loneliness. Before he could think, his lips moved and he said, “wanna spar?”
It was too late for take-backs. Biwako looked at him with her completely black eyes for a moment, then nodded. Naruto followed the girl to a training ground, and the two of them stood still for a minute, sizing up one another.
“So how do we do this? I’m Uzumaki Naruto by the way,” Naruto said, starting to jump in place.
Biwako didn’t speak for a moment, but she simply said, “Uchiha Biwako. Taijutsu only.”
Naruto nodded and got into a stance. He had been looking at (ob-serv-ing? That’s what Iruka called it) the other Academy students in taijutsu practice for a while to copy them, and with some help from Iruka, had gotten somewhat good. Fortunately, the man had also helped him learn how to read and write, because the caretakers had been too afraid of Naruto to get close enough to him to teach him.
(“What’s the problem, Naruto?” Iruka said, making Naruto jump in place.
The boy had stayed in the classroom to try and study during lunchtime, but….
“It’s too hard, Iruka-sensei! I don’t get it! All those kanji, and- and-,” Naruto said, ready to cry.
“Wait,” Iruka said, realizing the problem immediately, “didn’t they teach you how to read at the orphanage?”
Naruto, expecting his sensei to mock him, lifted his head slowly. He said, “they didn’t.”
Iruka looked furious after hearing that, but he didn’t mock Naruto. He took the time to teach Naruto how to read, and even called him a very fast learner. It took Naruto two to three months to be called ‘adequate’ by Iruka and another to be ‘just above average’ at reading.
Another half year later, Naruto’s scores ended up slightly higher than the class’s highest scoring student in the testing, though he had already forgotten the girl’s name. The (academia only) scores were as follows:
Naruto: History: 100/100, Biology-anatomy: 100/100, Math: 97/100, Sciences: 99/100, Tactics: 92/100, Traps: 90/100, Ninjutsu theory: 100/100
Unknown girl: History: 100/100, Biology-anatomy: 90/100, Math: 95/100, Sciences: 93/100, Tactics: 99/100, Traps: 100/100, Ninjutsu theory: 100/100)
He now remembered that Biwako was the girl who always got the highest overall scores. He also remembered her taking her loss calmly -she had pouted for a bit-, unlike Sakura.
(“Sensei, this can’t be right,” the pink-haired girl he couldn’t remember the name of said, “why did you score my test lower than that bum’s?”
Naruto froze in place and looked at Iruka, only to see his sensei’s face was still smiling, but it was scaring him for some reason.
“Sakura,” the man said gently, “Naruto earned his marks. You keep putting others down when they show better performance than you instead of improving yourself – this is not an attitude worthy of a competent future ninja.”
The girl looked at Iruka, then at Naruto, then ran outside, crying. Fake tears? Either way, Naruto didn’t remember anyone else defending him like that except maybe for Motoko-san, and she had stopped, probably because Naruto couldn’t stand her.)
When Sakura’s parents had come to complain and threatened to pull her out of the Academy, Iruka hadn’t backed off. He had supposedly had some choice words about their and Sakura’s attitude.
Naruto didn’t know what the man had said then, but Sakura had become more serious in the practical subjects, and Iruka would help her get better, just like he did for Naruto.
(“Your stance is all over the place, Naruto,” Iruka said, looking the boy over carefully, “where did you learn it?”
Naruto said, “I’ve been watching the others and copying them. Is it that bad?” Rubbing the back of his head. He had also been fighting off bullies for a long time in the orphanage, but that was another story.
Iruka rubbed the back of his head too and said, “well, it’s good for a beginner. The very good thing is that it shows you can learn quickly.”
Then, the older male corrected Naruto’s form. It took many hours of trying again and again before Naruto was tired.
After that, Iruka treated Naruto to Ramen at the Ichiraku stand. The blond boy was busy slurping up the noodles in his bowl, when Iruka cleared his throat.
The man said, “hey, Naruto.”
Naruto said, “whak is ick Irukka-sensei?” Still eating.
“Chew first and swallow, then speak, Naruto,” Iruka said, scolding him gently.
“Sor- sorry, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said, leaving the poor bowl of ramen alone for now. “What is it?” He said then.
“How would you feel if Sakura were to join our training sessions?” Iruka said.
“What! But Iruka-sensei, Sakura is- is-” Naruto said, lost for words, mostly because any word he could think of at the moment would make Iruka scold him.
“She’s a fellow classmate who wants to improve. Don’t forget that you’re not my only student, Naruto,” Iruka said, smiling gently at him.
That smile made Naruto not want to disappoint him. The boy said, “yeah, I guess, sensei,” sulking a bit.
Iruka ruffled his hair and said, “oh, don’t be like that, Naruto. You might even like Sakura if you get to know her better.”
“Yeah, right,” Naruto murmured, still not over how Sakura tended to treat him.
“Just give it a chance, all right, Naruto?” Iruka said, almost pleading, and Naruto just couldn’t say no.
“Okay sensei,” Naruto said, not sulking anymore, “I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask,” Iruka said and ruffled Naruto’s spiky hair again.)
Either way, Naruto had a spar to begin. He saw that Biwako had been waiting for him without complaining, and that made him respect her a little more. The two of them had never sparred in the past; boys and girls fought separately in the early Academy, so they had never done what they were going to that day.
Naruto put up the seal of confrontation, and Biwako reluctantly did the same thing. They tensed, and the second a bird passed just over a pond, the two of them moved towards each other. Naruto noticed that Biwako moved much faster than he could, but he shrugged off the knowledge and concentrated on the fight. Biwako kicked him in the gut, making his breath catch.
Then, Biwako tried to kick Naruto in the chin, but he stepped to the side quickly, making her mostly miss, barely grazing him. So, his pain tol- tol- whatever, saved him from that follow-up.
Naruto elbowed her in the kicking leg immediately, hopefully slowing her down. He had learned his lesson of holding back with girls after the Ami and Maifa incident.
Biwako backed off quickly, hobbling; she also seemed more surprised than hurt. She said, “your reflexes are as quick as mine,” sounding surprised.
This time, Naruto was the one who didn’t speak much – in fact, he didn’t speak at all, he simply shrugged. He tried to keep the fact that he was a bit out of breath quiet. The two of them, on another unspoken signal, clashed again; this time, Biwako’s much greater flexibility and clan training won out, and she pinned Naruto down.
Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t perfected the hold. And Naruto was much, much stronger than he looked, so he got out, though he was visibly out of breath after that e-xe-rtion.
Naruto looked at his opponent and decided to put his experience to use. After all, Biwako had to fight against girls who were more worried about getting a boyfriend -usually their arrogant prick of a senpai, Hyuuga Neji-, with Mito (ugh) her only challenge. Sakura was strong too, but she usually held back against Biwako for some reason. On the other hand, Naruto had had to outmaneuver Kiba in the past, outsmart Shino and block Chouji’s powerful blows.
…Not to forget showing patience to that lazy shit, Shikamaru. Seriously, his new habit of giving up every time he was supposed to face Naruto really annoyed him.
Mizuki, the assistant teacher, had had it out for him for a while; that was why Naruto usually had to fight the strongest students, but Mizuki regretted it when Naruto ended up stronger than them in barely more than a year. He could trick Shino and avoid Shino’s own tricks most of the time; move almost as fast as Kiba, with more a-gi-li-ty; and beat Chouji in a straight contest of strength, though he played to their weaknesses when he could.
He ran at Biwako, but not straight on, then used his incredible a-gi-li-ty to turn on a Ryo and attack her from behind. He punched her as she was turning, too stunned to react immediately, and got her in the cheek with incredible power, making her actually bleed and throwing her away from him.
Biwako got up shakily and wiped her injured cheek of blood. Naruto blurted out an “are you all right, Biwako?” But the girl ignored him.
She glared, full of hatred; at first, that worried him, but Naruto soon realized that she was seeing someone else in his place – he knew what being hated was like, so he knew that she was looking through him, and not to ignore him. She hated someone else with all her heart.
Biwako let out a cry filled with rage and attacked him again; this time, she wasn’t as smart in her fighting, so Naruto still had a chance. On the other hand, his stamina was running out, and Biwako was still going strong; he now knew that she had higher reserves, but fortunately, that didn’t ne-ce-ssa-ri-ly mean she could last longer.
Their last exchange ended with Naruto being kicked in the chest with incredible strength; he absently noted that this time, she had used her left foot. ‘Either she was holding back before, or her left is much stronger,’ he thought while flying through the air, coughing out saliva, hopefully without blood.
This time, she looked a bit worried, but when he got up, injuries no longer a problem, she said, “what are you made of?” Looking at him with a mixture of shock and… excitement?
Naruto dusted himself off, ignoring his worry that she would call him a freak in favor of focusing. He said, “I’ve always healed quickly. Now, let’s go!”
Thanks to Naruto having gotten his second wind, their next exchange ended up with Biwako getting a punch in the gut, then a kick in the chest when she bent down, being thrown away. She looked like a vengeful goddess then, eyes literally red, pain and fury twisting her features. It was all or nothing then. This last exchange would decide the fight.
This time, Biwako went for a punch in the face. She avoided Naruto’s counter perfectly, with an ease that seemed to surprise even her, which made her punch be weaker than it should be. Still, Naruto was seriously tired and hurt already, so his headbutt in the chest was weaker than he had expected; much weaker. Still, the previous gut and chest hits must have done their job, because Biwako dropped - at the same time Naruto did, and their fists met on the way down.
-----
There are three known methods to increase one’s natural talent for an element; four, if one counts the awakening of an already existent elemental Bloodline. One is through (usually illegal) experimentation, such as injecting oneself with an elemental Bloodline one does not possess the potential for. The second one is sealing a Bijuu with an elemental affinity or bloodline within oneself, though the compatibility with that Bijuu is lower when the affinities are different.
The other is when, in a process little is understood about, two people connect with each other during pitched combat, even if they are enemies, or even a (very intense) spar, and happen to possess the correct combination of elements. Even fewer know that this is the product of Ninshu*.
-----
It took a few minutes for them to catch their breaths, but when they did, Naruto said, “that- was- incredible! I never knew you could fight like that! What’s up with the red eyes by the way?”
“You said it,” Biwako said, “I wish I had healing and stamina regeneration like yours, though.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Naruto said, “I could tell that your reserves of stamina are much higher than mine; without the second wind I got, I’d have lost much earlier.”
“Right,” Biwako said, “wait, red eyes?”
Then, she looked at the small lake and whooped in joy, saying ‘Sharingan’ repeatedly… and fell backwards, unconscious.
Naruto caught her quickly, panicking. He said, “Biwako? Biwako! Come on – it’s not funny!”
He checked her pulse, but it felt normal to him. He carried her carefully to not be discovered, went up to one of the houses in the Uchiha district, trusting his gut; and, of course, it looked lived-in. He put her in a bed and went to her kitchen to make some tea. He had to decide if he would take her to the hospital, and it was a hard decision. He would immediately be blamed for any injuries she had, his fault or not.
Still, he steeled himself. It probably was actually his fault; he also wouldn’t risk Biwako’s health. He felt calm after deciding that, but he heard something he didn’t expect: movement from Biwako’s room.
He knocked at the door, saying, “Biwako! Are you awake?”
Naruto couldn’t hear what exactly she muttered, but she soon stumbled out of said room, looking like a zombie, like in the manga he sometimes read in the orphanage.
“Who’s- oh, it’s you,” Biwako said, slurring a bit.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Naruto asked, worried again. He didn’t dare tell her that she sounded and looked like a drunk.
“What- no, it’s just Chakra exhaustion, but never mind that! How did you find my house?” Biwako said, a strange look on her face.
“I’m not sure,” Naruto said, “I trusted my gut; the place felt more alive, somehow.”
Biwako frowned a bit. She said, “that doesn’t make sense- wait. Are you a tracker, or maybe a sensor?”
“What’s that?” Naruto asked, curious. He had heard the words before, but didn’t know what they meant.
“Never mind- is that tea?” Biwako said.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I took over your kitchen, but I couldn’t sit and do nothing. How do you drink your tea?” Naruto said.
“I drink it with no sugar, and no cream or milk – I don’t like sweet things,” Biwako replied.
Naruto couldn’t believe that. He said, “even fruits?” Before he could stop himself.
“I can… tolerate fruits, especially non-sweet ones like tomatoes- okay, that’s a lie; I love tomatoes,” Biwako said, looking more alive.
Naruto smiled. He said, “I like all fruits, including tomatoes. ‘Cept lemons. Useless little-. I like vegetables too. I wish I had a place to grow them.”
“Why don’t you grow them here, in the Uchiha district?” Biwako offered.
Naruto could see that she was surprised by her own words, but she didn’t take them back. He eventually said, “I think I’ll do that. Thanks.”
Biwako went up to a mirror and simply looked at her own face.
“What are you doing?” Naruto asked after a while, seeing that she was absorbed in her reflection.
“Checking my eyes. Do you know what the Sharingan is?” Biwako said.
“Eh, not really…? But if it takes Chakra, should you be using it right after Chakra exhaustion?” Naruto said, a bit worried.
Biwako turned to him, her eyes once again red. Now that he was able to examine them, he could see a comma mark in each of them, at least until they turned black.
“You’re right of course, what was I thinking?” Biwako said angrily, hopefully not angry at Naruto.
“Is this ‘Sharingan’ a bloodline limit?” Naruto asked, curious.
“Yes,” Biwako said, swaying in place again.
Naruto quickly said, “you should go to the hospital for your Chakra exhaustion. You might have cuts and bruises too,” getting ready to catch her if she fell.
“Hmph,” Biwako said, “only if you go too.”
Naruto looked down and explained that the doctors and medic-nins in the hospital didn’t like him.
“Will they refuse to treat you?” Biwako asked, her expression neutral.
“Only if my problem isn’t very serious,” Naruto replied, “I also don’t want to make my re- reputation even worse, so please don’t tell anyone we sparred like that. If we go to the hospital at the same time, people might guess what happened.”
Biwako nodded. She said “I’ll lie and say that I got an older student as a sparring partner. Is that enough?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Naruto said, relieved.
“For the time being, you can sleep on the couch,” Biwako said, strangely calmly.
“Eh? Are you sure?” Naruto said, taken aback.
Biwako nodded. She said, “unless you prefer the orphanage,” slyly.
“Oh, gods no,” Naruto said, disgusted at the idea. While the new orphanage wasn’t anywhere near as hostile as the previous and rarely had kids disappear, it was still terrible… not to mention the lower amounts of food. It was a temporary arrangement and back to the orphanage, though. Right? Naruto smiled to himself bitterly.
-----
Biwako had just come back from the hospital. She had been given a pill for her Chakra exhaustion and prescribed a cream for her bruises. The doctor tried to question her on how she had gotten the injuries, but her cold attitude had helped her for the thousandth time.
When she got back, she found Naruto on the couch, asleep. However, he was twisting around as if he were having a nightmare and sweating terribly.
‘That can’t be healthy in this weather,’ Biwako thought.
So, she went to get a blanket. Unfortunately, as she was covering him, Naruto latched onto her in his sleep and wouldn’t let go.
‘I have to get away without waking him up,’ Biwako thought, ‘well, at least he’s not shaking anymore.’ After a few attempts, the girl resigned herself to her fate and tried to fall asleep.
She didn’t realize she had until she woke up. Fortunately, she had just enough time when she woke up to stop hugging Naruto.
-----
“Ugh – where am I?” Naruto said, realizing something was off, only to meet a black-eyed glare from up close.
“Did you sleep comfortably?” Biwako asked sweetly. Too sweetly.
Naruto soon realized that he had his arms wrapped around something - or someone. Biwako…? Shit.
Naruto unwrapped his arms from the girl and threw himself off the couch, hitting his head on something. Bright lights flashed in his sight.
‘Ouch. What happened?’ Naruto thought, blacking out for a second.
-----
“I said I’m sorry,” Naruto said, “what more do you want?”
“Idiot,” Biwako said, brow twitching. She had slept better than she had since- well, for the past month, and didn’t mind all that much, but she wouldn’t let Naruto know or let him off the hook.
Naruto sighed, but he didn’t say any more. Smart boy.
The coming night, Naruto crashed on the couch again and Biwako ended up lying next to him again. (‘Don’t you dare tell anyone! Idiot!’)
Soon enough, Biwako ended up telling Naruto to use her bed… and that was the story of how Naruto left the orphanage.
-----
The second spar Naruto and Biwako had was a week or so later. Biwako had been so sure of her victory thanks to her Sharingan that she lost easily. She learned not to underestimate Naruto, the hard way. And that was how the two of them became rivals, though not the hostile kind.
She wanted her rival to be strong, which was why she taught him the basic E-rank Academy jutsu early, telling him that he should try to learn them so well that he could do them without hand-seals. The two of them didn’t have anything more advanced, other than Biwako’s Goukakyuu (Great Fireball), but they wanted to correct that.
Biwako had been trying to find the Uchiha library for ages, but even now she had the Sharingan, it wasn’t so easy. She didn’t expect what Naruto suggested next instead of learning from scrolls.
“Let’s spy on shinobi who are training,” Naruto said, smiling wide and with teeth, which was a rare thing.
“What if they catch us?” Biwako said, not really against the idea.
“Your Sharingan can see really far, right?” Naruto said, still grinning, “my hiding skills are great, too, so let’s spy on adult ninjas.”
“I can’t copy jutsu very well yet,” Biwako said, annoyed at the fact that her Sharingan only had one tomoe (comma mark) in each eye.
“I’ll do it,” Naruto said, “my memory is great - I can me-mo-rize the hand seals perfectly.”
Biwako sighed. She said, “just be careful; don’t spy on Jounin, and don’t be your usual reckless self.”
Naruto crouched down, and Biwako could swear she saw a dark cloud hovering above his head. He kept saying ‘Biwako thinks I’m reckless’, depressed, drawing circles on the floor.
Biwako rolled her eyes upwards – Naruto was being an idiot again.
-----
Naruto learned, after a bit of careful spying on chuunin sparring in training grounds, how to use the Water Clone jutsu.
To be exact, he saw it used once, and managed to use it right in less than an hour of trying it. The hand-seals were Dragon, Ram and Tiger.
Biwako was looking at Naruto with her mouth open. She said, "Naruto… have you had training in Water ninjutsu?"
Naruto shook his head. He said, “no. I haven’t learned any of the elements at all.”
Biwako said, “I think you might be a sensor – even with a Water affinity, it’s unlikely you would have learned an elemental ninjutsu with so few hand-seals without some training, unless you knew how the Chakra had to be used for that jutsu.”
Naruto said, “you’ve talked about sensors before. What does that mean? Does it mean that I can feel Chakra somehow? We haven’t learned that in the Academy.”
Biwako nodded and launched into a lecture on the subject, complete with a lecturing pose.
“So, how do I use that skill?” Naruto asked.
“Well… I don’t know,” Biwako said, blushing.
“What do you mean you don’t know!” Naruto said, almost shouting.
“Give me a break, Naruto – it’s not like I know everything. Even if I do know a lot more than you do,” Biwako said, smirking.
Naruto sulked for a bit after hearing that, making Biwako- wait, had she just-
“Biwako,” Naruto said slyly, “did you snort just now?”
Biwako was blushing again. She said, “now you’re hearing things, too?”
“Biwako-chaan,” Naruto said in a sing-song voice, “don’t be like that. You can’t fool me; I heard you loud and clear,” smirking.
“Whatever. Idiot,” Biwako said, her expression once again unreadable.
Naruto murmured that she sounded just like a tsundere.
“What did you say!?” Biwako demanded, raising a fist.
Yup, definitely a tsundere.
“…What are you smiling at?” Biwako asked a few moments later.
“It’s nothing,” Naruto said, still smiling wide.
“So, Naruto – do you have a dream? Or maybe an ambition. I’m curious,” Biwako said a few seconds later, changing the subject, looking at Naruto without smiling; not that she ever did.
Naruto stopped smiling and thought the question over. He then said, “I don’t know yet. I… guess that I want to be accepted by the village, or at least find another place that will accept me. I believe that becoming a legendary ninja will help me in that; I definitely can’t be accepted if I’m just a nobody. Besides, with the village so- unfriendly, it’s better if I am strong. What about you?”
Biwako laughed without humor. She said, “I walked right into this one, didn’t I? I have this dream - no, it’s more an ambition: I will kill that man and avenge my family.”
Naruto decided to keep to himself the fact that she didn’t sound all that assured of her chances against whoever she hated. He said, “who is ‘that man’?” Almost whispering.
Biwako remained silent for a bit, seemingly thinking. Then, she said, “I might as well tell you. The man I hate with all my heart is the one who murdered the rest of my clan, who slaughtered them; my older brother, Uchiha Itachi.”
Naruto didn’t know what to say to that. No, that was a lie – he definitely had something to say. He vowed, “I’ll help you get stronger to kill your target and fulfill your ambition. You’ll see, I’ll be the best rival you’ve ever had!”
Biwako blinked, a hint of water in her eyes. She said, “oh Naruto,” and hugged him briefly, a rare thing, other than what she would do in her sleep.
-----
Biwako had found something when trying to discover the Uchiha jutsu library, with Naruto being there to help her against any traps her target had left.
She tried a password passed down by her father, but it failed to open the passage or safe or whatever it was. Grimacing, she wrote ‘foolish little sister, maybe next time’, then made a poking motion. That led to the revelation of a relatively small space, which had a large scroll inside, barely able to fit while folded up.
Biwako asked Naruto to check it for traps with a Water Clone. The clone unfolded the scroll, which had the kanji for Hawk, ‘Taka’, on it.
Fears forgotten, Biwako looked at the scroll in awe; few people got the chance to sign a summoning contract. But then, her blood ran cold: what if That Man had signed it first?
She checked, but none of the names belonged to him. The fact that Shisui had signed it last gave the girl hope.
“Well? Aren’t you going to sign it?” A voice said.
Biwako lifted her head to see the original Naruto smiling at her.
“I’m not completely sure,” she said, breathing slowly, “this is a life-changing decision.”
Naruto shook his head. He said, “summoning contracts don’t grow on trees dattebayo.”
“I know that!” Biwako said, snapping at him. Then, she said, “sorry. Just… let me think for a moment,” sheepishly.
Naruto’s expression softened, and he nodded.
Biwako thought of the cats – but cats didn’t fly. Some other members of the Uchiha had had summoning contracts of their own, but most of those had been taken by the village or were still in the home of the summons.
She made her decision.
-----
Naruto and Biwako started using ninjutsu in their spars, but they were still roughly equal; Naruto’s Water Clones would take a lot of Chakra to dispel with the Great Fireball, and gave him enough of an advantage to negate Biwako’s experience in ninjutsu.
Not to mention it created mist, and Naruto had the better hearing and stealth, so Biwako had to dispel them up close. Biwako’s sense of smell was amazing, but it didn’t help as much without special training. In the meanwhile, Naruto took Biwako’s advice to heart and practiced the E-ranks, mainly the Kawarimi no jutsu, so that he could do them faster and reduce the hand-seal number.
Biwako had kept training her hand-seal speed. She wasn’t as good as Naruto at reducing the number of hand-seals needed, apparently, so she had to be fast. Fortunately for her, her ma-nu-al dex-te-ri-ty was much higher than his. That morning, though, they had to go to the Academy, so they cut their training in hand-seals short.
-----
Mito had sat close to Naruto and Biwako that day, much to Naruto’s annoyance. Mito was the village’s darling; the ‘Honorable Daughter’ of the Fourth. Naruto found the easy way the people of Konoha accepted her unfair.
“So, what have you two been learning? Pervy Sage is back in the village, and teaching me how to use the Wind element!” Mito said, enthusiastically, her bright blue eyes shining.
“Fire,” Biwako said, speaking the usual way she did in the Academy.
“Ah, okay,” Mito said, “what about you, Naruto?”
Naruto simply shrugged, both disliking the girl and not wanting to give away his abilities.
“Mou! Can’t the two of you be more talkative?” Mito said, pouting. “Like Kiba- never mind, bad example,” she said.
Naruto rolled his eyes, and Mito pounced. She said, “so you do have a sense of humor, Naruto. I had begun to wonder dattebara.”
Naruto couldn’t help grinning. Maybe Mito wasn’t that bad, after all. Now that I think of it, she’s never liked being called ‘Honorable Daughter’. Maybe, just maybe-
“You usually look so constipated. You’re worse than Biwako, I think,” Mito said innocently.
Naruto took it back – she was as troublesome as Shikamaru would say. Biwako and Naruto turned twin glares upon Mito, who laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head, chin-length strawberry blond hair moving around in sync.
Naruto still wanted to show up that pampered princess, even if she wasn’t that bad after all – he would show those idiot villagers that he was better than her. So, he decided to learn the Wind element and surpass Namikaze Mito in it.
-----
Naruto was checking on his plants in Biwako’s garden. Biwako was the only one who knew, but he had a habit of talking to plants. He had read in a book that that helped them grow, but in truth, he had done that even before. Had he somehow known that it helped them grow in-stinct-ive-ly, or was it just a habit he had gotten because he had been lonely? “Aargh, this in-tro-spe-ction thing is hard!” Naruto said out loud, tugging on his short blond hair in frustration.
He eventually noticed that two of his tomato plants had been uprooted, most likely by a dog or something like that. ‘How’d I miss that?’ Naruto thought, angry at himself - the ground around them was very messed up. He took one of them and put it in the ground again, but stopped himself before he did the same with the other. He knew it was too late for those plants – it was foolish to try to get them back… like it was foolish to have believed that Asuna-san would be able to come back from-
Naruto wiped his eyes with his shirt, near the shoulder, because his hands and sleeves were dirty. No. No! He wouldn’t cry any more, and he wouldn’t give up! He was Uzumaki Naruto, damn it!
Without bothering to think about it, Naruto put a little Chakra into the tomato plant he had replanted. He made a bit of a mistake, though: he used his Chakra in a strange way. Part of the Chakra that went into the plant reminded him of the Water Clone, another part reminded him of freshly tilled soil, and something felt strange about the Chakra in another way, too.
-----
Life is transient, and yet, some people are immortalized through their actions; through the light their very soul emits. That was the main principle of Ninshu: to reach understanding by linking their souls and their Spiritual energy -also known as Yin Chakra-, with Yang Chakra -Physical energy- as the medium.
What is even less-known is that Indra was not the only one to modify the process, though he was the only one to do so on purpose. Of all people, a direct descendant and reincarnate of the younger brother, Ashura, was responsible for that. His name was Senju Hashirama.
As a very young boy, Hashirama was secretly injected with White Zetsu cells by the nameless being some call Black Zetsu, in a gambit to trick an Uchiha into combining Ashura’s powers with Indra’s.
The operation succeeded beyond Black Zetsu’s wildest dreams, in every way. Far beyond. New, insanely powerful abilities emerged in Hashirama -and old ones were made beyond powerful-, such as his Chakra and flesh regenerating at a rate even his wife, a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, was envious of.
Hashirama unknowingly tapped into something resembling Ninshu for the first time while taking care of a plant as a child, and went on to make a supreme form of Zetsu’s Mokuton, combining Ashura’s powerful Chakra and natural talent for Senjutsu with Zetsu’s Water and Earth element, Hashirama’s own talent for elemental ninjutsu, and -of course- what remained in Zetsu of that tree’s essence.
Many have theorized that Mokuton includes Yang Style, and is a Kekkei Touta rather than a Kekkei Genkai, among them Tsunade. The truth, though, is a bit more complicated: Mokuton includes Yin-Yang Style, being closer to Creation of All Things than anything else.
Unlike Creation of All Things, which doesn’t use actual Chakra but ‘Stamina’ because it splits it into Yin and Yang; Mokuton gives form with Yin Chakra and uses Yang to give life… while still keeping Chakra in its balanced form. People could study Hashirama’s abilities for a lifetime and still have more to find. People DID study Mokuton for a lifetime and found very little, and not just because those who knew the most were very tight-lipped.
What would it be like, if someone had the Mokuton at full strength, naturally? None of Hashirama’s direct descendants inherited his Bloodline Limit, because none of them had Ashura’s Chakra. Or did they?
History has a tendency of repeating itself.
-----
Naruto couldn’t believe his eyes. The tomato plant he had thought dead was in perfect con-di-tion.
‘What did I just do…?’ Naruto thought, ‘were the other orphans and those caretakers -old Tsuruko and Setsuna-san-, right? Am I a freak?’ Panicking.
He decided not to tell anyone about this.
-----
It was Naruto’s turn to do the shopping; mainly because Biwako was too tired that day. The usual for the two of them was for Naruto to always cook and take care of the garden and Biwako to always go shopping and clean.
He went to the butcher’s, when his eyes met the owner’s. He saw the emotions play out on the man’s face; from a smile, to unpleasant surprise, to anger and hatred.
“Out,” the man said, evenly.
Naruto’s teeth and fists clenched. He saw that the man had an expression of fear and was about to pick up a knife, so he left the store before he did something he might or might not regret.
Two women in the street gossiping started speaking about Naruto, and how ‘that thing shouldn’t be allowed to be a ninja’, so he glared at them, putting a bit of Killing Intent into the look, making the air heavy with his hatred. He could smell the piss running down the clothes of one of the women; he smirked at her with hate, making them both shudder.
Naruto reached a park, going to a secluded corner to calm down, closing his eyes. ‘Damn it! Why do they hate me like that? I don’t get it,’ he thought, and took deep breaths to calm down, while leaning on a tree.
While he meditated like that, he felt like the tree was reaching out for him, as if it had Chakra of its own. ‘My imagination is working like crazy today,’ Naruto thought, ignoring the little voice that reminded him of that tomato plant and told him he should at least tell Biwako.
…The next day, Iruka scolded Naruto. The man said, “is it true, Naruto, that you hit a civilian?”
“Huh? No, sensei, that never happened! I did make a woman piss herself by glaring at her, though, hehe,” Naruto said, smug, but hiding the fact that he could use Killing Intent thanks to Biwako.
Iruka shook his head. He said, “that’s bad enough, too. I’m disappointed in you, Naruto. You gave people fuel to spread lies about you. Besides, how can you protect Konoha’s citizens if they’re scared of you?”
Naruto looked down – he didn’t like disappointing his sensei. “Sorry sensei,” he said in a small voice, ignoring the very loud part of him that said he shouldn’t apologize and that he didn’t care about protecting Konoha’s citizens.
“Hey, Naruto. Chin up,” Iruka said, “how about I come with you to apologize to that woman?” Smiling.
“Hell no! Screw that bitch!” Naruto said loudly, startling even himself with how ve- ve-he-ment he was.
Iruka looked shocked, then pained. He said, “Naruto-”
“No!” Naruto said and bolted, hating the look he saw on his father figure’s face, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, even to Iruka.
…That night, Naruto forgot all about Iruka, because he found out something else. “Wait, so you found the Uchiha shinobi library? Without taking me with you? It’s dangerous!” Naruto said to Biwako, worried.
Biwako said, “don’t worry. I didn’t even try to get into it yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s it. Come on, follow me.”
She grabbed his hand, took him to one of the buildings in the Uchiha district and switched on her Sharingan. She tapped the floor on three particular places and a stone tablet appeared. She ‘wrote’ some stuff with her finger, did some hand-seals and there it was: a secret passage opened. “What can you feel from there?” Biwako asked, her eyes focusing on the darkness below.
Naruto molded some Chakra, but didn’t let it form into a jutsu, controlling it in a way that made it enter everything around him, but in a different form somehow. So, he used his sensory skill to make sure that, other than him and Biwako, there was nothing alive larger than a cockroach there.
Biwako hesitantly walked down the stairs of the passage, did a few hand-seals to close the entrance -apparently, her need to keep the Uchiha jutsu library secret was stronger than her fear- and they were soon met by a huge room - or so it seemed to Naruto, but it was too dark to see any more.
Suddenly, fire flashed, making Naruto jump. He immediately noticed Biwako with her hands in a Tiger seal, next to a lit torch attached to the wall. More torches were lit that were connected to that one, just like in those manga that had brave archaeologists and explorers find ancient tombs.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Biwako remarked, her barely visible eyes betraying her excitement.
They both looked around; there were scrolls and books everywhere, and according to Biwako, the library had three more levels underground. The both of them explored those levels - the fourth and smallest level had things written by clan heads and just as important stuff, usually by the main families.
“What’s this?” Biwako remarked, “Advanced usage of Katon, by Uchiha Madara and Izuna?”
“Look, Biwako! The same guy, Madara. has a guide -no, many guides- for Fuuton, too! And a ‘how to’ on using fans like a Gunbai!” Naruto said, enthusiastic.
“Inside voice, Naruto,” Biwako scolded, “didn’t you want to learn about Fuuton? You should put the basics book on the first level, somewhere we can get to it easily. I’ll do the same for the moderately advanced Katon books; no clan head has written anything about the basics of Katon- wait.”
“What is it, Biwako?” Naruto asked.
Biwako showed him the thick book -more like an encyclopedia tome in size- called ‘Raiton: the Full Guide of Going from Expert to Grandmaster, Part 2’.
“What’s so great about- wait, Uchiha Mikoto? Wasn’t she your mother?” Naruto said.
He had met Uchiha Mikoto before and other than Iruka -and the man who owned a particular Ramen stand, to a point-, she was the only adult who had ever wanted him around. Sometimes, he would see her look at him and get an angry, scary look on her face, but he would ignore those times – she had been very good to him otherwise.
Nowadays, he understood some things better; so, he wondered what she had been angry at. He didn’t think it was Naruto himself.
Biwako smiled, though her eyes had a sheen on them. She said, “I think it’s time I learned a second element.”
Naruto couldn’t find it in him to disagree.
They also found a guide on tricks with shurikenjutsu, by Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha I- That Man… much to the disgust of his best friend, but she still kept it, mainly because of Shisui from what she said; a guide on wire use by Uchiha Fugaku; a guide on using the Shunshin in battle, by Uchiha Shisui, and incomplete documentation of two jutsu called the Raiton Chakra Mode and Hell Stab, by Mikoto again.
She had supposedly started writing the Lightning guide when she had been twenty one and a recently retired Jounin. The Hell Stab and Raiton Chakra Mode, she had written when she had been seventeen, a rookie Jounin. She was one of the few who had survived going up against the Third Raikage, in the first open battle of the Third Shinobi World War, though with a serious shoulder wound according to Biwako, who had just skimmed through some of the text.
Other interesting things were a jutsu called Housenka Tsumabeni, which made use of the rare Fire Style Chakra Flow, written by That Man with some help from Fugaku; the Clone Great Explosion, by That Man, along with the Shadow Clone, its kind-of parent jutsu; also Gouryuuka (Great Dragon Flame), Gouka Mekkyaku (Great Fire Annihilation) and Gouka Messhitsu (Great Fire Destruction), all written by Madara, the Gouryuuka co-written with Izuna like the previous guide.
According to Biwako again, Gouryuuka needed very high Chakra control, even though it was supposed to be weaker than the other two. In return, its range -and something called ‘versatility’. What was that?- was incredible, though it would also cost more Chakra the further it went from the user.
Finally, a series of books on genjutsu and Yin Style. Some had been written by unknown clan heads and relatives thereof; others co-written by Madara and Izuna, some co-written by Shisui and That Man and yet more written in collaboration by both of Biwako’s parents, Fugaku and Mikoto.
They had found a literal treasure trove of techniques, ninjutsu and otherwise. The two of them couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces, and they ended up studying the ninja arts well into the night, though they were smart enough to start from the basics. Barely. Fortunately, the morning after they had gotten into the library was a Sunday.
On the next school day, Naruto was nervous about seeing Iruka. He couldn’t eat much of his breakfast and could only think of how angry his teacher might be.
During the Academy’s lessons, Iruka didn’t act any different, but when he dismissed the class, Naruto stayed behind. When Iruka didn’t comment and simply started grading some tests, Naruto started sweating.
He couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “Iruka-sensei!”
Iruka looked up from his tests, his expression unreadable. He said, “yes, Naruto?” Tests and pen left to the side of his desk.
“I’m really sorry, sensei! I shouldn’t have blown you off like that!” Naruto said, ending up rambling a bit, after that; partly because he still didn’t like apologizing, even to Iruka.
Iruka held up a hand. He said, “okay Naruto, I get it. Should I assume that apologizing to the civilians too is out of the question, though?”
Naruto looked everywhere but at Iruka.
“Your silence says it all,” Iruka said, dryly, “it’s not easy to forgive, I know. Just don’t lash out like that again.”
“You got it, Iruka-sensei!” Naruto said seriously.
-----
*(Biwako’s Lightning affinity improved a little bit in that exchange. Biwako’s talent for Fire improved more, though: her Fire Element ended up being an actual natural affinity when it had only been the secondary element.
In response, Naruto’s Water Element and Wind Element improved greatly. His Wind element remains a non-affinity, though.)
Naruto teams up with (Fem-)Sasuke, known as Uchiha Biwako. This story won't have pairings until the involved characters are well into their teens. Even if they share a bed, it's innocent (they're eight!)
Inspired by Ginjaa Ninjaa’s ‘History repeats itself’, with his blessing (he's on FFnet). This is also my second try at a Mokuton (Wood Style) Naruto story. Yeah, Mokuton Naruto is a cliche blah blah, yadda yadda. I know.
First two chapters beta-ed by Ginjaa Ninjaa.
Naruto was born to his canon parents, but one of them is descended from Hashirama; you'll see how later.
-----
Two children by a lake; a moment of understanding. Such a thing can change the world.
-----
Naruto made eye contact with his classmate, the one he thought was named Biwako. In her eyes, he could see the same pain he felt all the time, loneliness. Before he could think, his lips moved and he said, “wanna spar?”
It was too late for take-backs. Biwako looked at him with her completely black eyes for a moment, then nodded. Naruto followed the girl to a training ground, and the two of them stood still for a minute, sizing up one another.
“So how do we do this? I’m Uzumaki Naruto by the way,” Naruto said, starting to jump in place.
Biwako didn’t speak for a moment, but she simply said, “Uchiha Biwako. Taijutsu only.”
Naruto nodded and got into a stance. He had been looking at (ob-serv-ing? That’s what Iruka called it) the other Academy students in taijutsu practice for a while to copy them, and with some help from Iruka, had gotten somewhat good. Fortunately, the man had also helped him learn how to read and write, because the caretakers had been too afraid of Naruto to get close enough to him to teach him.
(“What’s the problem, Naruto?” Iruka said, making Naruto jump in place.
The boy had stayed in the classroom to try and study during lunchtime, but….
“It’s too hard, Iruka-sensei! I don’t get it! All those kanji, and- and-,” Naruto said, ready to cry.
“Wait,” Iruka said, realizing the problem immediately, “didn’t they teach you how to read at the orphanage?”
Naruto, expecting his sensei to mock him, lifted his head slowly. He said, “they didn’t.”
Iruka looked furious after hearing that, but he didn’t mock Naruto. He took the time to teach Naruto how to read, and even called him a very fast learner. It took Naruto two to three months to be called ‘adequate’ by Iruka and another to be ‘just above average’ at reading.
Another half year later, Naruto’s scores ended up slightly higher than the class’s highest scoring student in the testing, though he had already forgotten the girl’s name. The (academia only) scores were as follows:
Naruto: History: 100/100, Biology-anatomy: 100/100, Math: 97/100, Sciences: 99/100, Tactics: 92/100, Traps: 90/100, Ninjutsu theory: 100/100
Unknown girl: History: 100/100, Biology-anatomy: 90/100, Math: 95/100, Sciences: 93/100, Tactics: 99/100, Traps: 100/100, Ninjutsu theory: 100/100)
He now remembered that Biwako was the girl who always got the highest overall scores. He also remembered her taking her loss calmly -she had pouted for a bit-, unlike Sakura.
(“Sensei, this can’t be right,” the pink-haired girl he couldn’t remember the name of said, “why did you score my test lower than that bum’s?”
Naruto froze in place and looked at Iruka, only to see his sensei’s face was still smiling, but it was scaring him for some reason.
“Sakura,” the man said gently, “Naruto earned his marks. You keep putting others down when they show better performance than you instead of improving yourself – this is not an attitude worthy of a competent future ninja.”
The girl looked at Iruka, then at Naruto, then ran outside, crying. Fake tears? Either way, Naruto didn’t remember anyone else defending him like that except maybe for Motoko-san, and she had stopped, probably because Naruto couldn’t stand her.)
When Sakura’s parents had come to complain and threatened to pull her out of the Academy, Iruka hadn’t backed off. He had supposedly had some choice words about their and Sakura’s attitude.
Naruto didn’t know what the man had said then, but Sakura had become more serious in the practical subjects, and Iruka would help her get better, just like he did for Naruto.
(“Your stance is all over the place, Naruto,” Iruka said, looking the boy over carefully, “where did you learn it?”
Naruto said, “I’ve been watching the others and copying them. Is it that bad?” Rubbing the back of his head. He had also been fighting off bullies for a long time in the orphanage, but that was another story.
Iruka rubbed the back of his head too and said, “well, it’s good for a beginner. The very good thing is that it shows you can learn quickly.”
Then, the older male corrected Naruto’s form. It took many hours of trying again and again before Naruto was tired.
After that, Iruka treated Naruto to Ramen at the Ichiraku stand. The blond boy was busy slurping up the noodles in his bowl, when Iruka cleared his throat.
The man said, “hey, Naruto.”
Naruto said, “whak is ick Irukka-sensei?” Still eating.
“Chew first and swallow, then speak, Naruto,” Iruka said, scolding him gently.
“Sor- sorry, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said, leaving the poor bowl of ramen alone for now. “What is it?” He said then.
“How would you feel if Sakura were to join our training sessions?” Iruka said.
“What! But Iruka-sensei, Sakura is- is-” Naruto said, lost for words, mostly because any word he could think of at the moment would make Iruka scold him.
“She’s a fellow classmate who wants to improve. Don’t forget that you’re not my only student, Naruto,” Iruka said, smiling gently at him.
That smile made Naruto not want to disappoint him. The boy said, “yeah, I guess, sensei,” sulking a bit.
Iruka ruffled his hair and said, “oh, don’t be like that, Naruto. You might even like Sakura if you get to know her better.”
“Yeah, right,” Naruto murmured, still not over how Sakura tended to treat him.
“Just give it a chance, all right, Naruto?” Iruka said, almost pleading, and Naruto just couldn’t say no.
“Okay sensei,” Naruto said, not sulking anymore, “I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask,” Iruka said and ruffled Naruto’s spiky hair again.)
Either way, Naruto had a spar to begin. He saw that Biwako had been waiting for him without complaining, and that made him respect her a little more. The two of them had never sparred in the past; boys and girls fought separately in the early Academy, so they had never done what they were going to that day.
Naruto put up the seal of confrontation, and Biwako reluctantly did the same thing. They tensed, and the second a bird passed just over a pond, the two of them moved towards each other. Naruto noticed that Biwako moved much faster than he could, but he shrugged off the knowledge and concentrated on the fight. Biwako kicked him in the gut, making his breath catch.
Then, Biwako tried to kick Naruto in the chin, but he stepped to the side quickly, making her mostly miss, barely grazing him. So, his pain tol- tol- whatever, saved him from that follow-up.
Naruto elbowed her in the kicking leg immediately, hopefully slowing her down. He had learned his lesson of holding back with girls after the Ami and Maifa incident.
Biwako backed off quickly, hobbling; she also seemed more surprised than hurt. She said, “your reflexes are as quick as mine,” sounding surprised.
This time, Naruto was the one who didn’t speak much – in fact, he didn’t speak at all, he simply shrugged. He tried to keep the fact that he was a bit out of breath quiet. The two of them, on another unspoken signal, clashed again; this time, Biwako’s much greater flexibility and clan training won out, and she pinned Naruto down.
Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t perfected the hold. And Naruto was much, much stronger than he looked, so he got out, though he was visibly out of breath after that e-xe-rtion.
Naruto looked at his opponent and decided to put his experience to use. After all, Biwako had to fight against girls who were more worried about getting a boyfriend -usually their arrogant prick of a senpai, Hyuuga Neji-, with Mito (ugh) her only challenge. Sakura was strong too, but she usually held back against Biwako for some reason. On the other hand, Naruto had had to outmaneuver Kiba in the past, outsmart Shino and block Chouji’s powerful blows.
…Not to forget showing patience to that lazy shit, Shikamaru. Seriously, his new habit of giving up every time he was supposed to face Naruto really annoyed him.
Mizuki, the assistant teacher, had had it out for him for a while; that was why Naruto usually had to fight the strongest students, but Mizuki regretted it when Naruto ended up stronger than them in barely more than a year. He could trick Shino and avoid Shino’s own tricks most of the time; move almost as fast as Kiba, with more a-gi-li-ty; and beat Chouji in a straight contest of strength, though he played to their weaknesses when he could.
He ran at Biwako, but not straight on, then used his incredible a-gi-li-ty to turn on a Ryo and attack her from behind. He punched her as she was turning, too stunned to react immediately, and got her in the cheek with incredible power, making her actually bleed and throwing her away from him.
Biwako got up shakily and wiped her injured cheek of blood. Naruto blurted out an “are you all right, Biwako?” But the girl ignored him.
She glared, full of hatred; at first, that worried him, but Naruto soon realized that she was seeing someone else in his place – he knew what being hated was like, so he knew that she was looking through him, and not to ignore him. She hated someone else with all her heart.
Biwako let out a cry filled with rage and attacked him again; this time, she wasn’t as smart in her fighting, so Naruto still had a chance. On the other hand, his stamina was running out, and Biwako was still going strong; he now knew that she had higher reserves, but fortunately, that didn’t ne-ce-ssa-ri-ly mean she could last longer.
Their last exchange ended with Naruto being kicked in the chest with incredible strength; he absently noted that this time, she had used her left foot. ‘Either she was holding back before, or her left is much stronger,’ he thought while flying through the air, coughing out saliva, hopefully without blood.
This time, she looked a bit worried, but when he got up, injuries no longer a problem, she said, “what are you made of?” Looking at him with a mixture of shock and… excitement?
Naruto dusted himself off, ignoring his worry that she would call him a freak in favor of focusing. He said, “I’ve always healed quickly. Now, let’s go!”
Thanks to Naruto having gotten his second wind, their next exchange ended up with Biwako getting a punch in the gut, then a kick in the chest when she bent down, being thrown away. She looked like a vengeful goddess then, eyes literally red, pain and fury twisting her features. It was all or nothing then. This last exchange would decide the fight.
This time, Biwako went for a punch in the face. She avoided Naruto’s counter perfectly, with an ease that seemed to surprise even her, which made her punch be weaker than it should be. Still, Naruto was seriously tired and hurt already, so his headbutt in the chest was weaker than he had expected; much weaker. Still, the previous gut and chest hits must have done their job, because Biwako dropped - at the same time Naruto did, and their fists met on the way down.
-----
There are three known methods to increase one’s natural talent for an element; four, if one counts the awakening of an already existent elemental Bloodline. One is through (usually illegal) experimentation, such as injecting oneself with an elemental Bloodline one does not possess the potential for. The second one is sealing a Bijuu with an elemental affinity or bloodline within oneself, though the compatibility with that Bijuu is lower when the affinities are different.
The other is when, in a process little is understood about, two people connect with each other during pitched combat, even if they are enemies, or even a (very intense) spar, and happen to possess the correct combination of elements. Even fewer know that this is the product of Ninshu*.
-----
It took a few minutes for them to catch their breaths, but when they did, Naruto said, “that- was- incredible! I never knew you could fight like that! What’s up with the red eyes by the way?”
“You said it,” Biwako said, “I wish I had healing and stamina regeneration like yours, though.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Naruto said, “I could tell that your reserves of stamina are much higher than mine; without the second wind I got, I’d have lost much earlier.”
“Right,” Biwako said, “wait, red eyes?”
Then, she looked at the small lake and whooped in joy, saying ‘Sharingan’ repeatedly… and fell backwards, unconscious.
Naruto caught her quickly, panicking. He said, “Biwako? Biwako! Come on – it’s not funny!”
He checked her pulse, but it felt normal to him. He carried her carefully to not be discovered, went up to one of the houses in the Uchiha district, trusting his gut; and, of course, it looked lived-in. He put her in a bed and went to her kitchen to make some tea. He had to decide if he would take her to the hospital, and it was a hard decision. He would immediately be blamed for any injuries she had, his fault or not.
Still, he steeled himself. It probably was actually his fault; he also wouldn’t risk Biwako’s health. He felt calm after deciding that, but he heard something he didn’t expect: movement from Biwako’s room.
He knocked at the door, saying, “Biwako! Are you awake?”
Naruto couldn’t hear what exactly she muttered, but she soon stumbled out of said room, looking like a zombie, like in the manga he sometimes read in the orphanage.
“Who’s- oh, it’s you,” Biwako said, slurring a bit.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Naruto asked, worried again. He didn’t dare tell her that she sounded and looked like a drunk.
“What- no, it’s just Chakra exhaustion, but never mind that! How did you find my house?” Biwako said, a strange look on her face.
“I’m not sure,” Naruto said, “I trusted my gut; the place felt more alive, somehow.”
Biwako frowned a bit. She said, “that doesn’t make sense- wait. Are you a tracker, or maybe a sensor?”
“What’s that?” Naruto asked, curious. He had heard the words before, but didn’t know what they meant.
“Never mind- is that tea?” Biwako said.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I took over your kitchen, but I couldn’t sit and do nothing. How do you drink your tea?” Naruto said.
“I drink it with no sugar, and no cream or milk – I don’t like sweet things,” Biwako replied.
Naruto couldn’t believe that. He said, “even fruits?” Before he could stop himself.
“I can… tolerate fruits, especially non-sweet ones like tomatoes- okay, that’s a lie; I love tomatoes,” Biwako said, looking more alive.
Naruto smiled. He said, “I like all fruits, including tomatoes. ‘Cept lemons. Useless little-. I like vegetables too. I wish I had a place to grow them.”
“Why don’t you grow them here, in the Uchiha district?” Biwako offered.
Naruto could see that she was surprised by her own words, but she didn’t take them back. He eventually said, “I think I’ll do that. Thanks.”
Biwako went up to a mirror and simply looked at her own face.
“What are you doing?” Naruto asked after a while, seeing that she was absorbed in her reflection.
“Checking my eyes. Do you know what the Sharingan is?” Biwako said.
“Eh, not really…? But if it takes Chakra, should you be using it right after Chakra exhaustion?” Naruto said, a bit worried.
Biwako turned to him, her eyes once again red. Now that he was able to examine them, he could see a comma mark in each of them, at least until they turned black.
“You’re right of course, what was I thinking?” Biwako said angrily, hopefully not angry at Naruto.
“Is this ‘Sharingan’ a bloodline limit?” Naruto asked, curious.
“Yes,” Biwako said, swaying in place again.
Naruto quickly said, “you should go to the hospital for your Chakra exhaustion. You might have cuts and bruises too,” getting ready to catch her if she fell.
“Hmph,” Biwako said, “only if you go too.”
Naruto looked down and explained that the doctors and medic-nins in the hospital didn’t like him.
“Will they refuse to treat you?” Biwako asked, her expression neutral.
“Only if my problem isn’t very serious,” Naruto replied, “I also don’t want to make my re- reputation even worse, so please don’t tell anyone we sparred like that. If we go to the hospital at the same time, people might guess what happened.”
Biwako nodded. She said “I’ll lie and say that I got an older student as a sparring partner. Is that enough?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Naruto said, relieved.
“For the time being, you can sleep on the couch,” Biwako said, strangely calmly.
“Eh? Are you sure?” Naruto said, taken aback.
Biwako nodded. She said, “unless you prefer the orphanage,” slyly.
“Oh, gods no,” Naruto said, disgusted at the idea. While the new orphanage wasn’t anywhere near as hostile as the previous and rarely had kids disappear, it was still terrible… not to mention the lower amounts of food. It was a temporary arrangement and back to the orphanage, though. Right? Naruto smiled to himself bitterly.
-----
Biwako had just come back from the hospital. She had been given a pill for her Chakra exhaustion and prescribed a cream for her bruises. The doctor tried to question her on how she had gotten the injuries, but her cold attitude had helped her for the thousandth time.
When she got back, she found Naruto on the couch, asleep. However, he was twisting around as if he were having a nightmare and sweating terribly.
‘That can’t be healthy in this weather,’ Biwako thought.
So, she went to get a blanket. Unfortunately, as she was covering him, Naruto latched onto her in his sleep and wouldn’t let go.
‘I have to get away without waking him up,’ Biwako thought, ‘well, at least he’s not shaking anymore.’ After a few attempts, the girl resigned herself to her fate and tried to fall asleep.
She didn’t realize she had until she woke up. Fortunately, she had just enough time when she woke up to stop hugging Naruto.
-----
“Ugh – where am I?” Naruto said, realizing something was off, only to meet a black-eyed glare from up close.
“Did you sleep comfortably?” Biwako asked sweetly. Too sweetly.
Naruto soon realized that he had his arms wrapped around something - or someone. Biwako…? Shit.
Naruto unwrapped his arms from the girl and threw himself off the couch, hitting his head on something. Bright lights flashed in his sight.
‘Ouch. What happened?’ Naruto thought, blacking out for a second.
-----
“I said I’m sorry,” Naruto said, “what more do you want?”
“Idiot,” Biwako said, brow twitching. She had slept better than she had since- well, for the past month, and didn’t mind all that much, but she wouldn’t let Naruto know or let him off the hook.
Naruto sighed, but he didn’t say any more. Smart boy.
The coming night, Naruto crashed on the couch again and Biwako ended up lying next to him again. (‘Don’t you dare tell anyone! Idiot!’)
Soon enough, Biwako ended up telling Naruto to use her bed… and that was the story of how Naruto left the orphanage.
-----
The second spar Naruto and Biwako had was a week or so later. Biwako had been so sure of her victory thanks to her Sharingan that she lost easily. She learned not to underestimate Naruto, the hard way. And that was how the two of them became rivals, though not the hostile kind.
She wanted her rival to be strong, which was why she taught him the basic E-rank Academy jutsu early, telling him that he should try to learn them so well that he could do them without hand-seals. The two of them didn’t have anything more advanced, other than Biwako’s Goukakyuu (Great Fireball), but they wanted to correct that.
Biwako had been trying to find the Uchiha library for ages, but even now she had the Sharingan, it wasn’t so easy. She didn’t expect what Naruto suggested next instead of learning from scrolls.
“Let’s spy on shinobi who are training,” Naruto said, smiling wide and with teeth, which was a rare thing.
“What if they catch us?” Biwako said, not really against the idea.
“Your Sharingan can see really far, right?” Naruto said, still grinning, “my hiding skills are great, too, so let’s spy on adult ninjas.”
“I can’t copy jutsu very well yet,” Biwako said, annoyed at the fact that her Sharingan only had one tomoe (comma mark) in each eye.
“I’ll do it,” Naruto said, “my memory is great - I can me-mo-rize the hand seals perfectly.”
Biwako sighed. She said, “just be careful; don’t spy on Jounin, and don’t be your usual reckless self.”
Naruto crouched down, and Biwako could swear she saw a dark cloud hovering above his head. He kept saying ‘Biwako thinks I’m reckless’, depressed, drawing circles on the floor.
Biwako rolled her eyes upwards – Naruto was being an idiot again.
-----
Naruto learned, after a bit of careful spying on chuunin sparring in training grounds, how to use the Water Clone jutsu.
To be exact, he saw it used once, and managed to use it right in less than an hour of trying it. The hand-seals were Dragon, Ram and Tiger.
Biwako was looking at Naruto with her mouth open. She said, "Naruto… have you had training in Water ninjutsu?"
Naruto shook his head. He said, “no. I haven’t learned any of the elements at all.”
Biwako said, “I think you might be a sensor – even with a Water affinity, it’s unlikely you would have learned an elemental ninjutsu with so few hand-seals without some training, unless you knew how the Chakra had to be used for that jutsu.”
Naruto said, “you’ve talked about sensors before. What does that mean? Does it mean that I can feel Chakra somehow? We haven’t learned that in the Academy.”
Biwako nodded and launched into a lecture on the subject, complete with a lecturing pose.
“So, how do I use that skill?” Naruto asked.
“Well… I don’t know,” Biwako said, blushing.
“What do you mean you don’t know!” Naruto said, almost shouting.
“Give me a break, Naruto – it’s not like I know everything. Even if I do know a lot more than you do,” Biwako said, smirking.
Naruto sulked for a bit after hearing that, making Biwako- wait, had she just-
“Biwako,” Naruto said slyly, “did you snort just now?”
Biwako was blushing again. She said, “now you’re hearing things, too?”
“Biwako-chaan,” Naruto said in a sing-song voice, “don’t be like that. You can’t fool me; I heard you loud and clear,” smirking.
“Whatever. Idiot,” Biwako said, her expression once again unreadable.
Naruto murmured that she sounded just like a tsundere.
“What did you say!?” Biwako demanded, raising a fist.
Yup, definitely a tsundere.
“…What are you smiling at?” Biwako asked a few moments later.
“It’s nothing,” Naruto said, still smiling wide.
“So, Naruto – do you have a dream? Or maybe an ambition. I’m curious,” Biwako said a few seconds later, changing the subject, looking at Naruto without smiling; not that she ever did.
Naruto stopped smiling and thought the question over. He then said, “I don’t know yet. I… guess that I want to be accepted by the village, or at least find another place that will accept me. I believe that becoming a legendary ninja will help me in that; I definitely can’t be accepted if I’m just a nobody. Besides, with the village so- unfriendly, it’s better if I am strong. What about you?”
Biwako laughed without humor. She said, “I walked right into this one, didn’t I? I have this dream - no, it’s more an ambition: I will kill that man and avenge my family.”
Naruto decided to keep to himself the fact that she didn’t sound all that assured of her chances against whoever she hated. He said, “who is ‘that man’?” Almost whispering.
Biwako remained silent for a bit, seemingly thinking. Then, she said, “I might as well tell you. The man I hate with all my heart is the one who murdered the rest of my clan, who slaughtered them; my older brother, Uchiha Itachi.”
Naruto didn’t know what to say to that. No, that was a lie – he definitely had something to say. He vowed, “I’ll help you get stronger to kill your target and fulfill your ambition. You’ll see, I’ll be the best rival you’ve ever had!”
Biwako blinked, a hint of water in her eyes. She said, “oh Naruto,” and hugged him briefly, a rare thing, other than what she would do in her sleep.
-----
Biwako had found something when trying to discover the Uchiha jutsu library, with Naruto being there to help her against any traps her target had left.
She tried a password passed down by her father, but it failed to open the passage or safe or whatever it was. Grimacing, she wrote ‘foolish little sister, maybe next time’, then made a poking motion. That led to the revelation of a relatively small space, which had a large scroll inside, barely able to fit while folded up.
Biwako asked Naruto to check it for traps with a Water Clone. The clone unfolded the scroll, which had the kanji for Hawk, ‘Taka’, on it.
Fears forgotten, Biwako looked at the scroll in awe; few people got the chance to sign a summoning contract. But then, her blood ran cold: what if That Man had signed it first?
She checked, but none of the names belonged to him. The fact that Shisui had signed it last gave the girl hope.
“Well? Aren’t you going to sign it?” A voice said.
Biwako lifted her head to see the original Naruto smiling at her.
“I’m not completely sure,” she said, breathing slowly, “this is a life-changing decision.”
Naruto shook his head. He said, “summoning contracts don’t grow on trees dattebayo.”
“I know that!” Biwako said, snapping at him. Then, she said, “sorry. Just… let me think for a moment,” sheepishly.
Naruto’s expression softened, and he nodded.
Biwako thought of the cats – but cats didn’t fly. Some other members of the Uchiha had had summoning contracts of their own, but most of those had been taken by the village or were still in the home of the summons.
She made her decision.
-----
Naruto and Biwako started using ninjutsu in their spars, but they were still roughly equal; Naruto’s Water Clones would take a lot of Chakra to dispel with the Great Fireball, and gave him enough of an advantage to negate Biwako’s experience in ninjutsu.
Not to mention it created mist, and Naruto had the better hearing and stealth, so Biwako had to dispel them up close. Biwako’s sense of smell was amazing, but it didn’t help as much without special training. In the meanwhile, Naruto took Biwako’s advice to heart and practiced the E-ranks, mainly the Kawarimi no jutsu, so that he could do them faster and reduce the hand-seal number.
Biwako had kept training her hand-seal speed. She wasn’t as good as Naruto at reducing the number of hand-seals needed, apparently, so she had to be fast. Fortunately for her, her ma-nu-al dex-te-ri-ty was much higher than his. That morning, though, they had to go to the Academy, so they cut their training in hand-seals short.
-----
Mito had sat close to Naruto and Biwako that day, much to Naruto’s annoyance. Mito was the village’s darling; the ‘Honorable Daughter’ of the Fourth. Naruto found the easy way the people of Konoha accepted her unfair.
“So, what have you two been learning? Pervy Sage is back in the village, and teaching me how to use the Wind element!” Mito said, enthusiastically, her bright blue eyes shining.
“Fire,” Biwako said, speaking the usual way she did in the Academy.
“Ah, okay,” Mito said, “what about you, Naruto?”
Naruto simply shrugged, both disliking the girl and not wanting to give away his abilities.
“Mou! Can’t the two of you be more talkative?” Mito said, pouting. “Like Kiba- never mind, bad example,” she said.
Naruto rolled his eyes, and Mito pounced. She said, “so you do have a sense of humor, Naruto. I had begun to wonder dattebara.”
Naruto couldn’t help grinning. Maybe Mito wasn’t that bad, after all. Now that I think of it, she’s never liked being called ‘Honorable Daughter’. Maybe, just maybe-
“You usually look so constipated. You’re worse than Biwako, I think,” Mito said innocently.
Naruto took it back – she was as troublesome as Shikamaru would say. Biwako and Naruto turned twin glares upon Mito, who laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head, chin-length strawberry blond hair moving around in sync.
Naruto still wanted to show up that pampered princess, even if she wasn’t that bad after all – he would show those idiot villagers that he was better than her. So, he decided to learn the Wind element and surpass Namikaze Mito in it.
-----
Naruto was checking on his plants in Biwako’s garden. Biwako was the only one who knew, but he had a habit of talking to plants. He had read in a book that that helped them grow, but in truth, he had done that even before. Had he somehow known that it helped them grow in-stinct-ive-ly, or was it just a habit he had gotten because he had been lonely? “Aargh, this in-tro-spe-ction thing is hard!” Naruto said out loud, tugging on his short blond hair in frustration.
He eventually noticed that two of his tomato plants had been uprooted, most likely by a dog or something like that. ‘How’d I miss that?’ Naruto thought, angry at himself - the ground around them was very messed up. He took one of them and put it in the ground again, but stopped himself before he did the same with the other. He knew it was too late for those plants – it was foolish to try to get them back… like it was foolish to have believed that Asuna-san would be able to come back from-
Naruto wiped his eyes with his shirt, near the shoulder, because his hands and sleeves were dirty. No. No! He wouldn’t cry any more, and he wouldn’t give up! He was Uzumaki Naruto, damn it!
Without bothering to think about it, Naruto put a little Chakra into the tomato plant he had replanted. He made a bit of a mistake, though: he used his Chakra in a strange way. Part of the Chakra that went into the plant reminded him of the Water Clone, another part reminded him of freshly tilled soil, and something felt strange about the Chakra in another way, too.
-----
Life is transient, and yet, some people are immortalized through their actions; through the light their very soul emits. That was the main principle of Ninshu: to reach understanding by linking their souls and their Spiritual energy -also known as Yin Chakra-, with Yang Chakra -Physical energy- as the medium.
What is even less-known is that Indra was not the only one to modify the process, though he was the only one to do so on purpose. Of all people, a direct descendant and reincarnate of the younger brother, Ashura, was responsible for that. His name was Senju Hashirama.
As a very young boy, Hashirama was secretly injected with White Zetsu cells by the nameless being some call Black Zetsu, in a gambit to trick an Uchiha into combining Ashura’s powers with Indra’s.
The operation succeeded beyond Black Zetsu’s wildest dreams, in every way. Far beyond. New, insanely powerful abilities emerged in Hashirama -and old ones were made beyond powerful-, such as his Chakra and flesh regenerating at a rate even his wife, a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, was envious of.
Hashirama unknowingly tapped into something resembling Ninshu for the first time while taking care of a plant as a child, and went on to make a supreme form of Zetsu’s Mokuton, combining Ashura’s powerful Chakra and natural talent for Senjutsu with Zetsu’s Water and Earth element, Hashirama’s own talent for elemental ninjutsu, and -of course- what remained in Zetsu of that tree’s essence.
Many have theorized that Mokuton includes Yang Style, and is a Kekkei Touta rather than a Kekkei Genkai, among them Tsunade. The truth, though, is a bit more complicated: Mokuton includes Yin-Yang Style, being closer to Creation of All Things than anything else.
Unlike Creation of All Things, which doesn’t use actual Chakra but ‘Stamina’ because it splits it into Yin and Yang; Mokuton gives form with Yin Chakra and uses Yang to give life… while still keeping Chakra in its balanced form. People could study Hashirama’s abilities for a lifetime and still have more to find. People DID study Mokuton for a lifetime and found very little, and not just because those who knew the most were very tight-lipped.
What would it be like, if someone had the Mokuton at full strength, naturally? None of Hashirama’s direct descendants inherited his Bloodline Limit, because none of them had Ashura’s Chakra. Or did they?
History has a tendency of repeating itself.
-----
Naruto couldn’t believe his eyes. The tomato plant he had thought dead was in perfect con-di-tion.
‘What did I just do…?’ Naruto thought, ‘were the other orphans and those caretakers -old Tsuruko and Setsuna-san-, right? Am I a freak?’ Panicking.
He decided not to tell anyone about this.
-----
It was Naruto’s turn to do the shopping; mainly because Biwako was too tired that day. The usual for the two of them was for Naruto to always cook and take care of the garden and Biwako to always go shopping and clean.
He went to the butcher’s, when his eyes met the owner’s. He saw the emotions play out on the man’s face; from a smile, to unpleasant surprise, to anger and hatred.
“Out,” the man said, evenly.
Naruto’s teeth and fists clenched. He saw that the man had an expression of fear and was about to pick up a knife, so he left the store before he did something he might or might not regret.
Two women in the street gossiping started speaking about Naruto, and how ‘that thing shouldn’t be allowed to be a ninja’, so he glared at them, putting a bit of Killing Intent into the look, making the air heavy with his hatred. He could smell the piss running down the clothes of one of the women; he smirked at her with hate, making them both shudder.
Naruto reached a park, going to a secluded corner to calm down, closing his eyes. ‘Damn it! Why do they hate me like that? I don’t get it,’ he thought, and took deep breaths to calm down, while leaning on a tree.
While he meditated like that, he felt like the tree was reaching out for him, as if it had Chakra of its own. ‘My imagination is working like crazy today,’ Naruto thought, ignoring the little voice that reminded him of that tomato plant and told him he should at least tell Biwako.
…The next day, Iruka scolded Naruto. The man said, “is it true, Naruto, that you hit a civilian?”
“Huh? No, sensei, that never happened! I did make a woman piss herself by glaring at her, though, hehe,” Naruto said, smug, but hiding the fact that he could use Killing Intent thanks to Biwako.
Iruka shook his head. He said, “that’s bad enough, too. I’m disappointed in you, Naruto. You gave people fuel to spread lies about you. Besides, how can you protect Konoha’s citizens if they’re scared of you?”
Naruto looked down – he didn’t like disappointing his sensei. “Sorry sensei,” he said in a small voice, ignoring the very loud part of him that said he shouldn’t apologize and that he didn’t care about protecting Konoha’s citizens.
“Hey, Naruto. Chin up,” Iruka said, “how about I come with you to apologize to that woman?” Smiling.
“Hell no! Screw that bitch!” Naruto said loudly, startling even himself with how ve- ve-he-ment he was.
Iruka looked shocked, then pained. He said, “Naruto-”
“No!” Naruto said and bolted, hating the look he saw on his father figure’s face, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, even to Iruka.
…That night, Naruto forgot all about Iruka, because he found out something else. “Wait, so you found the Uchiha shinobi library? Without taking me with you? It’s dangerous!” Naruto said to Biwako, worried.
Biwako said, “don’t worry. I didn’t even try to get into it yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s it. Come on, follow me.”
She grabbed his hand, took him to one of the buildings in the Uchiha district and switched on her Sharingan. She tapped the floor on three particular places and a stone tablet appeared. She ‘wrote’ some stuff with her finger, did some hand-seals and there it was: a secret passage opened. “What can you feel from there?” Biwako asked, her eyes focusing on the darkness below.
Naruto molded some Chakra, but didn’t let it form into a jutsu, controlling it in a way that made it enter everything around him, but in a different form somehow. So, he used his sensory skill to make sure that, other than him and Biwako, there was nothing alive larger than a cockroach there.
Biwako hesitantly walked down the stairs of the passage, did a few hand-seals to close the entrance -apparently, her need to keep the Uchiha jutsu library secret was stronger than her fear- and they were soon met by a huge room - or so it seemed to Naruto, but it was too dark to see any more.
Suddenly, fire flashed, making Naruto jump. He immediately noticed Biwako with her hands in a Tiger seal, next to a lit torch attached to the wall. More torches were lit that were connected to that one, just like in those manga that had brave archaeologists and explorers find ancient tombs.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Biwako remarked, her barely visible eyes betraying her excitement.
They both looked around; there were scrolls and books everywhere, and according to Biwako, the library had three more levels underground. The both of them explored those levels - the fourth and smallest level had things written by clan heads and just as important stuff, usually by the main families.
“What’s this?” Biwako remarked, “Advanced usage of Katon, by Uchiha Madara and Izuna?”
“Look, Biwako! The same guy, Madara. has a guide -no, many guides- for Fuuton, too! And a ‘how to’ on using fans like a Gunbai!” Naruto said, enthusiastic.
“Inside voice, Naruto,” Biwako scolded, “didn’t you want to learn about Fuuton? You should put the basics book on the first level, somewhere we can get to it easily. I’ll do the same for the moderately advanced Katon books; no clan head has written anything about the basics of Katon- wait.”
“What is it, Biwako?” Naruto asked.
Biwako showed him the thick book -more like an encyclopedia tome in size- called ‘Raiton: the Full Guide of Going from Expert to Grandmaster, Part 2’.
“What’s so great about- wait, Uchiha Mikoto? Wasn’t she your mother?” Naruto said.
He had met Uchiha Mikoto before and other than Iruka -and the man who owned a particular Ramen stand, to a point-, she was the only adult who had ever wanted him around. Sometimes, he would see her look at him and get an angry, scary look on her face, but he would ignore those times – she had been very good to him otherwise.
Nowadays, he understood some things better; so, he wondered what she had been angry at. He didn’t think it was Naruto himself.
Biwako smiled, though her eyes had a sheen on them. She said, “I think it’s time I learned a second element.”
Naruto couldn’t find it in him to disagree.
They also found a guide on tricks with shurikenjutsu, by Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha I- That Man… much to the disgust of his best friend, but she still kept it, mainly because of Shisui from what she said; a guide on wire use by Uchiha Fugaku; a guide on using the Shunshin in battle, by Uchiha Shisui, and incomplete documentation of two jutsu called the Raiton Chakra Mode and Hell Stab, by Mikoto again.
She had supposedly started writing the Lightning guide when she had been twenty one and a recently retired Jounin. The Hell Stab and Raiton Chakra Mode, she had written when she had been seventeen, a rookie Jounin. She was one of the few who had survived going up against the Third Raikage, in the first open battle of the Third Shinobi World War, though with a serious shoulder wound according to Biwako, who had just skimmed through some of the text.
Other interesting things were a jutsu called Housenka Tsumabeni, which made use of the rare Fire Style Chakra Flow, written by That Man with some help from Fugaku; the Clone Great Explosion, by That Man, along with the Shadow Clone, its kind-of parent jutsu; also Gouryuuka (Great Dragon Flame), Gouka Mekkyaku (Great Fire Annihilation) and Gouka Messhitsu (Great Fire Destruction), all written by Madara, the Gouryuuka co-written with Izuna like the previous guide.
According to Biwako again, Gouryuuka needed very high Chakra control, even though it was supposed to be weaker than the other two. In return, its range -and something called ‘versatility’. What was that?- was incredible, though it would also cost more Chakra the further it went from the user.
Finally, a series of books on genjutsu and Yin Style. Some had been written by unknown clan heads and relatives thereof; others co-written by Madara and Izuna, some co-written by Shisui and That Man and yet more written in collaboration by both of Biwako’s parents, Fugaku and Mikoto.
They had found a literal treasure trove of techniques, ninjutsu and otherwise. The two of them couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces, and they ended up studying the ninja arts well into the night, though they were smart enough to start from the basics. Barely. Fortunately, the morning after they had gotten into the library was a Sunday.
On the next school day, Naruto was nervous about seeing Iruka. He couldn’t eat much of his breakfast and could only think of how angry his teacher might be.
During the Academy’s lessons, Iruka didn’t act any different, but when he dismissed the class, Naruto stayed behind. When Iruka didn’t comment and simply started grading some tests, Naruto started sweating.
He couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “Iruka-sensei!”
Iruka looked up from his tests, his expression unreadable. He said, “yes, Naruto?” Tests and pen left to the side of his desk.
“I’m really sorry, sensei! I shouldn’t have blown you off like that!” Naruto said, ending up rambling a bit, after that; partly because he still didn’t like apologizing, even to Iruka.
Iruka held up a hand. He said, “okay Naruto, I get it. Should I assume that apologizing to the civilians too is out of the question, though?”
Naruto looked everywhere but at Iruka.
“Your silence says it all,” Iruka said, dryly, “it’s not easy to forgive, I know. Just don’t lash out like that again.”
“You got it, Iruka-sensei!” Naruto said seriously.
-----
*(Biwako’s Lightning affinity improved a little bit in that exchange. Biwako’s talent for Fire improved more, though: her Fire Element ended up being an actual natural affinity when it had only been the secondary element.
In response, Naruto’s Water Element and Wind Element improved greatly. His Wind element remains a non-affinity, though.)
Last edited: