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maggyme13 · 2 years

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The Girl that had no Name (4/?)

AN: Next part :) Well Quarantine is over for me, so updates will take a while now

Wordcount: around 5k

Warnings: asshole classmate

Read at your own risk

Part 3

TGTHNN-Masterlist

Kuma would start the academy in one month, joining the new third year under Sensai Iruka who had taken over the class after the old teacher had been heavily injured during the attack at the chunin finals. Her Kunoichi class would be taught by Kana-sensei, who had given her a schedule to learn things Kuma had to catch up on. It was a long list. So, apart from their daily schedule, the young girl met Yoshino Nara every two days for two hours.

The first week of Kunoichi-coaching consisted of learning how to appropriately dress for different occasions. Before they could start those classes though, Yoshino-sama took her shopping.

Kuma hated it. Most of the clothes were tight or had tight undergarments, and were uncomfortable.

The only good thing was that all of them hid her scars, though she could not hide them from the woman. Her eyes had turned cold and dark when she had seen them the first time helping Kuma into a kimono, only for her to give her a loving smile and invitation to come to their house whenever she wants.

It perplexed Kuma, once again someone she did not know cared for her, so she did the only thing she knew, and looked away to nod.

That is how she ended up sitting in the formal greeting room of the Nara household, wearing a lime green Yukata watching the mistress of the house prepare tea and mirroring it with her own tea set during her third session.

Kuma had been taught formal things but her clan was less in tea parties and flower arrangements and more into jewelry making and baking sweet and savory. Not that she would excel in those categories. She had been declared ´Too clumsy´ to be taught without the risk of heavy injury by her brothers father and so her teaching had stopped after the bare minimum (the theory).

“Not like that, Kuma, see the pot has to be held in this angle and height.”, Yoshino-sama told her before moving her hand into the right position, “And the cup has to be placed like this.”

Nodding her head, Kuma placed everything back onto the tray and started anew. Hoping this time she would do better. She did. But as soon as she had eradicated one error, her teacher found another one and another one after that.

“As a Kunoichi, you have to be just as skilled as your male comrades but without looking like you are. The more innocent you look, the more your opponents will underestimate you.”, she told you once again, “If your hair were just longer I could teach you some hairstyles that would help with that.”

Uneasiness crept in her bones, hair was something almost holy her clan, with it being braided into intricate hairstyles, and she had never been allowed to have it longer than her chin. How would it be for her to have long hair? Do they have a special tradition in Konoha as well? Will someone cut it (again) should she ever do something wrong?

“But that is up to you.”, she smiled reassuringly after noticing the look on the girl's face, “My husband will be back soon. He will escort you back to Genma´s. I want you to think about an instrument you want to learn for our next meeting in two days. And then we will also start with flower arrangement.”

Kuma bowed in understanding.

“I imagine it is hard to learn almost two years of Classes in just one month. But no one expects you to be perfect. You just need to be on the same level of information as the other girls. You can perfect your abilities in class with your teacher.”, Yoshino hummed with a kind smile, “I can ask one of the girls of our clan to join us if you want. She will be in the same year as you. Her name is Kojika.”

Kuma shook her head no but smiled at the offer.

It was then that the opening of the entrance door caught their attention.

“Ah, Shikaku. Good that you are here, you can get little Kuma-chan back to Shiranui´s place while I prepare food.”, the wife greeted her husband who simply nodded looked at the girl.

“Now, or do you want to change?”, he asked her, “I don´t mind waiting.”

Once again Kuma shook her head no and tried to gracefully stand up, her food though caught on the hem of her Yukata and she stumbled into the table knocking over the tea arrangements from her lesson. Cold tea spluttered everywhere and she froze in shock. With huge eyes, she glanced and the woman only to try and clean everything back up, even trying to use her new clothes to absorb the liquid.

It had been so ingrained into her mind to always clean up any mess she made (intentionally or not) regardless of the circumstances that she didn´t think twice and started to press her sleeve into the puddle.

“Kuma. Stop. I can clean this up, it´s alright.”, her teacher stated, trying to stop the girl from ruining her new clothes, but when she did not react she stopped her by placing her hand on her sleeve, “Stop. You will ruin your beautiful new Yukata. It's fine. I will clean this up. Don´t worry.”

Her voice was warm and Kuma slowly relaxed her tense muscles and stood up into a slight bow.

Walking alongside the man through the streets the little child kept staring at the wet sleeves of her Yukata ever so often. Back with her brother's father, she would have been beaten just for spilling the tea, and then some more for ruining her new clothes trying to clean the mess. By now she would have been laying bleeding in her room, or forced to clean her Yukata with a soap that would burn in her fresh cuts.

She smiled, no giggled, knowing that punishments like that lay in the past. No one would treat her like that again, not with Genma, Kakashi, and Yoshino-sama looking after her.

“If anyone even dares to threaten to hurt you like that again, tell me. That one will feel the wrath of the allied mother force of Konoha. And I don´t care who is it. Royal or not!”, the clan head´s wife had stated during their second lesson where she taught Kuma how to walk in a Yukatan gracefully.

At first, she did not believe her. Why would other children´s mothers care for her well-being, but then she had looked into her eyes and saw the same expression that was in Genma´s eyes when he promised her a better life. Her Guardian would not hand her over to someone he did not trust and so Kuma accepted her words to be true.

“I think that was the first time I heard you do a happy noise. Do you like it in Konoha Kuma? ”, Shikaku hummed asking a question he wanted the answer to for a few weeks now. She was to be trained to fight for the village and he does not like forcing people to fight for a cause out of guilt.

He saw the thoughts dancing behind her eyes. He knew she was calculating what might happen if she did not give the answer he wanted to get. She had been trained to act in a way that would bring her as little pain as possible. Memories danced behind her eyes, good and bad ones fought for dominance. She might not be speaking but her eyes said more than a thousand words could to those that were able to see them. They had become less dull during her time with the Jonin Genma and started to shimmer like the metal which color they shared.

After what felt like hours she stopped and looked up at him, and gave one determined nod.

She really liked it in Konoha. Finally, she had people that seemed to really care for her. People she trusted. People she would willingly die for to protect. Sure, she was still afraid to be around strangers, scared of how they would treat her and do when she did a mistake. But now she had a safe haven to return to.

It had scared her how easy she was now trusting people, strangers, people that could easily kill her with one finger, but maybe that was the reason why she trusted them. True, the men of her clan that had tortured her could have done so as well, but against them, she would have had a fighting chance. Kakashi and the others could kill her without looking at her. Without touching her, she was sure of it.

“I am glad to hear that.”, he smiled before waving goodbye. The two of them had reached the house she lived in without her noticing.

.-...-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-----.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Excited for your first day of school?”, Kakashi asked her from the windowsill he was currently sitting on reading his orange book as always.

Excited and nervous at the same time Kuma hummed a yes and sat down for a quick breakfast.

“You will be fine. Iruka is a good teacher and I am sure you will make some friends soon.”, Genma assured her with a smile, “And tonight we will go and get some ramen in celebration. I am going to work for T & I from now on while you are at the academy. Do you want me to walk you there and back? Well, today I have to because of bureaucracy, but from tomorrow on you can walk alone if you want.”

Kuma shrugged unsurely and accepted the bento box her guardian handed her for her lunch at school.

“Just let me know once you decided. Don´t you have something to do Kakashi?”

“Maa, maa. Now that you say that. I think Shikaku wanted to see me at seven.”, the masked ninja scratched the back of his head.

“That was twenty minutes ago! Don´t you ever copy his timemanagement. He might be one hell of a shinobi, but he would still be late if someone glue a clock on his forehead right before his eye.”, Genma shook his head in disbelief about his comrade´s antics.

Grabbing her new backpack with her school stuff Kuma left the flat alongside her Guardian and made her way to the academy.

The streets were filled with children of all ages walking in the same direction and she briefly wondered if any one of them were to be within her class.

“Iruka- sensei will wait for us at the main gate and take you to your class. See, there he is. Morning Iruka.”, he greeted the other man.

“Morning Genma. Good morning Kuma-chan. Are you ready for your first day?”, the teacher asked, crouching to be on the girl´s eye level and smiled when she nodded a yes, “I am glad to hear that and am sure you will get along fine with them. Ready to go?”

Again she nodded a yes and gave her guardian a short smile and wave.

“See you after school kid. And make sure to eat the fruits Yoshino-san bought you yesterday.”, he winked before walking through another entrance to somewhere else in the building.

“Well, let´s go then. My classroom is just down this hall. Toilets are over there on the left. If you need to go during class you can ask. But we make ten-minute breaks every two periods, so it is appreciated if you were able to wait until then. You can also eat and drink something during those breaks. The main break is at noon and lasts one period. In the afternoon we have the practical subjects until three when school is over. Any questions?”

She shook her head no and took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

“Don´t hesitate to write them down if that changes. There is a free seat at the window in the second row. Sit down and we will do the introductions as soon as the others are all here.”

Kuma did as he had asked, sat down at her new seat, and prepared the table in front of her for the upcoming school day.

Sitting on her seat, she scented the air in the room for the scents of the other students. She smelled canines, bugs, a very faint scent of a fox, and just so many more, with none of them smelling threatening.

Loud voices and ruckus echoed through the hallways and only a few seconds later seventeen other children piled into the room. Kuma observed their behavior. The first two were shoving each other through the doorway bickering about something. Following were three girls that simply rolled their eyes at the boys' behavior. The boy that entered next was taller and broader than the other kids. He had blond hair, green eyes, and when he walked past her smelled like Kuma imagines lightning would smell. He must have noticed her attention and glanced at her with a huff. Unfazed Kuma returned to muster the other students, she was used to reactions like that. People looked down on her with disdain.

“Hi, you are the girl Yoshino-sama is teaching, and your name is Kuma, right ?”, a little black-haired girl smiled next to Kuma, “ I am Kojika Nara. Nice to meet you. Yoshino-sama said you can´t speak so don´t worry I won´t be mad if you don´t answer me.”

She nodded with a smile and gave a small wave as a greeting.

“That´s Raidon. He is a bully. Just ignore him.”, she continued.

“Alright, class. Calm down and listen. Some of you might have noticed that we have a new student in class. This is Kuma. She is eight years old, just moved to Konoha a few months ago, and does not speak. So please introduce yourself during the day. Kojika- chan I see you already introduced yourself. Would you show her around?”

“Of course Iruka-sensei.”, the young girl smiled with a lot more energy than Kuma was used by the other Nara clan members. Also, she had only ever met the head-family.

“Good. Then we will start with the lesson. This will be your timetable for this year.”, Iruka-sensei smiled and started to write down the timetable on the board, “Make sure to copy it and bring the right books with you from tomorrow on.”

“Yes, Iruka-sensei!”, the students called out in union and the lesson began.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.--..-.--..-.--..-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“We usually spend our lunch break under the trees over there. Come join us.”, Kojika grinned at the end of the fourth period at Kuma, motioning to a red-haired and a brown-haired girl.

“Hi, I am Fumiko-”, the red-haired one introduced herself.

“And I am Nari-” , the brown-haired one continued and they both ended with “-Nice to meet you.”

A little bit overwhelmed by so much positive attention from strangers her own age, Kuma hummed and waved in greeting.

“Yoshino-sama told me you will be shy. Don´t worry, Nari isn´t talking much either.”, Kojika grinned before shoving the other girls towards the exit.

“You are joining us for Kunoichi classes too, right? Are you excited?”, Nari asked her after a few minutes of silence, only to laugh when she saw the flinch on Kuma´s face,

“I don´t like them much either.”

“I do like them. But I want to specialize in infiltration later on. So I will have a use for some skills.”, Fumiko grinned.

“I still don´t get why the boys don´t have to attend them. We will be one Kunoichi with two Shinobi in a team. That means we have to keep them out of political struggle and make sure they behave in certain situations. Looking at the boys in our year that will be an impossible task.”

A smile spread along Kuma´s lips, at least she won´t be alone in the classes and hate them.

“WHAT WAS THAT YOU LITTLE …!”, interrupted the girls' conversation, “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?”

“I- I- I didn´t mean anything by it, Raidon. I ju-just said your shirt looks cool.”, a boy answered scared, “I am sorry.”

“Raidon is back at it again.”, Nari mumbled.

“He thinks just because he is the strongest he can do what he wants.”

“I am sorry for whoever will end up in a team with him.”

Kuma nodded at that and hummed. The boy who smelled like lightning had a temper that fit. A temper that reminded her of her brother´s father and she did not want to be on the receiving end of it ever again.

Short memories of her old life flashed before her eyes and she unconsciously grabbed her left ribs and clenched her teeth.

“WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? HUH? Think you are better than me because you can´t speak? I bet you are only here because of pity.”, Raidon shouted towards the girls.

“Raidon. Calm down and save your energy for the next periods.”, a teacher called from within the academy.

“Your luck, girl.”, he sneered but finally turned away.

For the rest of the break, Kuma sat under the tree, listening to the girls' conversations, and watched the other students of the different years. The oldest student seemed to be around twelve and was sitting at the other end of the yard. She also noticed three kids with ninken running around and made a mental note to ask Genma if she could go and visit Gado at one point.

“I hope your clothes are comfortable enough. We usually do our physical training in our usual clothes.”, Nari explained, “Though Kojika said you live with a Shinobi, so I guess you already knew that.”

Again Kuma nodded.

A loud whistle announced the end of the break and all the different years and classes gathered in their respective groups to wait for their teacher to lead them to their training areas.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-

“What happened to your face?”, Genma asked shocked seeing a bruise on his wards cheek.

“A spar went wrong.”, Iruka sighed, “I placed her with the strongest fighter in her class. I thought them to be a good match after she beat Gai. I was wrong and did not consider that she would hesitate fighting children her age. I am sorry Genma. She was checked by a medic and nothing is broken.”

“What about the other kid? A Clan-kid?”

“No. Civilian parents. His name is Raidon. He got out of the spar unharmed. Though he did sprain his wrist when Kuma moved out of the way and he hit a tree.”

“Good. I will talk to her. Come on, kid.”

They walked in silence back to their flat, Kuma looking at the floor and playing with her sleeves.

“You made great progress with controlling your strength. You don´t need to be afraid to hurt other kids in a spar.”, Genma addressed the issue he believed his ward had, “And that Raidon boy seems to be an idiot. You know the Shinobi working in the Hokagetower watch the students when they are bored or have nothing to do or if they don't want to work * cough * Kotetzu * cough*. They say he is a bully. Is that true?”

Of course, Kotetzu would try everything to get out of work, and Kuma had to smile at that but shrugged at the question.

“You know you won´t get into trouble if you hurt someone during a spar on accident? You don´t have to fight him with full force but at least don´t let him beat you around, okay? The time where you had to do that is over.”, he sighed and placed a gentle hand on her head.

He had started to do that a while back (once he was sure she did not see him as a threat) and used it to show his affection. It was their version of a hug.

Finally, she nodded, telling her guardian she would do as he said. Next time they were to spar, she would not allow him to beat her up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-..-.--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

That day was two days later. Once again they had to spar and Kuma was paired with Raidon.

“Huh. This will be an easy win!”, the blond boy laughed before doing the mandatory bow. His laughter ended a few minutes later when Kuma dodged one of his punches, turned her body, and landed a punch of her own against his hip.

He howled in shock and tried to jump away, but Kuma followed close and got behind him. With one swift move, she pulled his feet away under him and he landed on his face.

Her ears started to ring under the noise of their celebrating classmates. He was still laying on the floor, almost unmoving, and for a second Kuma feared he had used too much strength. There was no reason for that fear, just a few seconds later a stone hit her on her forehead, thrown by the boy on the floor. Before she could react he had jumped to his feet, pushed her, and started to throw punch after punch at her. To relieved (and stunned) Kuma did not react and only when Iruka-sensei grabbed the boy did his assault end.

“Raidon. Enough. She won the spar fair and square. Go sit over there. I will inform your parents about you again breaking the rules. Good fight, Kuma. Are you alright?”

She nodded her head and dusted off her clothes, his punches did not hurt her and the stone was barely comparable to other things she had been hit with. It was more surprising than anything.

“I have to inform your guardian about this as well. Policy if one of you gets either broken bones or a bleeding injury.”, Iruka-sensei explained Kuma pressing a piece of cloth against her forehead, only for the girl to shake her head no, “And you need to see a medic, again.”

Again a firm shake of the head.

“Policies, Kuma. Kojika, can you escort her to the medic?”

“Hai Iruka-sensei. Come Kuma. I think Sakura-chan is on duty today.”

Without much of a choice, the silver-haired girl sighed but followed without any more fuss.

“Training accident? Sit down and I will take a look at it.”, a pink-haired girl greeted them with a smile.

“Yes, a classmate hit her with a stone after he lost their spar.”

“Boys. Alright let me see.”, she hummed, “It´s nothing bad. I´ll have it closed within a second. It won´t hurt and then you can get back to training. I-”

“I DON`T NEED A MEDIC.”, the voice of her Guardian caught her attention and she turned away from the medic and towards the door.

“You will have a medic look at this gash. End of arguments.”, the voice she recognized as belonging to Ibiki Morino growled.

“I worked with worse in the field.”, Genma argued back.

“Yes, but now you have a kid at home. Do you want Kuma to see you with a gash like that and worry?”, Izumo argued back.

“Fine. But for the record, I don´t need the medic.”

“Yo Sakura-san, we have a- Kuma?”, Izuma said once he had walked around the divider that hid the girls.

“WHAT?!”, her Guardian called out before he ripped the divider aside, “Why are you here? Why are you bleeding?”

Kuma had no time to answer with Sakura starting to question the men.

“And you are? I can not allow you to be here if you don´t know her.”

“I am her guardian.”, Genma told her, “Now?”

“She had a sparring accident. The wound isn´t deep and she will be good to return to the lesson hereafter. What happened to you?”

“Nothing.”

Everyone in the room exchanged a look that meant ´I don´t believe you.

“That doesn´t look like nothing.”, Sakura stated.

“It´s – Kuma?”, he asked when she stood up from her position and walked towards him. All eyes were on her when she stopped and grabbed the arm he tried to hide from her. It was red with blood smelled of something else. Something she had smelled before when she had been bitten by a spider in the woods. Poison.

With determination, she pulled his arm towards her and held it in front of her face. The gash was around four centimeters in length and went from his wrist diagonally towards his elbow.

“Kuma, I am-”, he tried to pull his arm away and calm his ward down but a deep rumbling sound out of her chest made him stop. She had growled at him like a wild animal.

She had never done anything like that before. And he was even more shocked when she started to suck at the gash and spit the blood onto the floor. One, two, three times before she seemed satisfied with the result.

“Why did you do that?”, Sakura asked from her left, handing her a towel to clean her face.

Once her face was clear the young girl turned towards the older one and placed her two pointer fingers against his chin to mimic fangs and then formed her hands to show a spider, hoping the medic or one of the others would understand.

“Are you telling me he had spider poison in his wound?”, she frowned shocked only to grab her by her face and pull her mouth open, causing Kuma to whimper, “That was a stupid thing to do. Now you have the poison in your system. Do NOT swallow until I tell you to.”

Intimidated Kuma nodded.

“You, Izumo, get me one of the water bottles and the bowl over there. Ibiki, please secure some of the blood on the floor for further tests. Here cleanse your mouth with the water and spit it into the bowl. Do it until the bottle is empty, okay?”

Kuma nodded as much as she was able to in her position.

“Good and sorry for the rough handling. But I had to make sure you don´t get poisoned by it as well.”

“Make sure she doesn´t swallow the water while I take care of his wound and get some antidote.”

“Will do. Go do your work Sakura. I will keep an eye on my ward.”

“And who will keep an eye on you? If I heard correctly you didn´t even want to be here.”

“I will.”, Ibiki rumbled and both ward and guardian sighed. They both were in trouble.

“Alright kid. Can you tell me what kind of training accident it was?”, Genma asked Kojika who had been silent the whole time.

“Ehm- Yes. Raidon and Kuma sparred. Kuma beat him this time though and he got mad I guess. He grabbed a stone, slammed it in her face, and started to beat her up until Iruka-sensei pulled him off her. He said he will have to inform his parents and her guardian. I – I guess that means you then.”

“Sore loser.”, Izumo sighed.

“Well done Kid.”, Ibiki grinned, “I want an incident report for that gash on my table within the next two days. And no more arguments about visits to the medics.”

“Yes Ibiki.”, Genma sighed, “I will have it done tomorrow.”

“Good. Izumo, return to your tasks as soon as possible. And make sure Kotetsu for once gets his report finished on time. Tsunade is on my ass already because of his laziness.”, Ibiki finished before leaving the room.

“Kid.”, Genma addressed Kuma who did not want to look at him at first, “I am not mad. But never do that again. Next time let a medic extract the poison. Alright?”

“Yeah, that was a stupid thing to do.”, Izumo added and finally Kuma nodded in understanding and promise.

Part 5

AN2.0: Thanks for reading. COmments and Reblogs are appreciated :)

#genma shiranui #genma #Naruto #Kakashi hatake #fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

redvoid-40 · 4 years

Text

Chapter 2:

Hey! Here’s the second chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it! :D @demeterrist I’m tagging you because you seemed interested in this. But let me know if you don’t want me to. :)

Fandom: Naruto

Fanfic title: ???

Chapter 2: Graduation Day

Genre: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort

Word count: 1796

Warnings: none

Previous chapter / Next chapter

----

Today was the day. After two years of hard work, Shin was finally going to have the chance to prove herself and become a Shinobi from Konoha.

It hadn’t been easy. Before moving to the village, becoming a Ninja wasn’t something Shin had ever considered, so there was a lot of catching up she had to do to reach the level of her classmates. There were far too many sleepless nights studying Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and even more long afternoons training her Taijutsu to make up for her lack of talent in the aforementioned two.

But it would be all worth it. She wanted to believe it would be.

Shin stared at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. She was dressed in her Ninja attire: a gray heathered vest that she kept zipped halfway up, with deep pockets on the front and hidden pockets inside. She wore a orange tank top underneath her vest and matching wristbands, both a gift from Naruto. On her lower half she wore black pants tucked in traditional blue Shinobi sandals with a couple of kunai holders on her right thigh. Her light brown hair barely reached her shoulders, maintaining that length which was too short to tie in a ponytail and too long not to get in her eyes, so she pinned her bangs to the side with a couple of orange hair clips, while the rest of her hair reached the top of her shoulders in messy, thick curls.

She was ready. She had to be.

Mama, Papa, I’ll make you both proud today.

There was a loud knock at the door, followed by Naruto’s voice.

“Shin-chaaaan! Are you up? We need to get going, believe it!”

Shin nodded at herself in the mirror and left her apartment.

Once they arrived at the Academy, Shin and Naruto were told to wait in class for their names to be called one by one. Naruto was called first, and Shin watched him go with a smile and good luck wishes.

Left alone, Shin raised a hand to the nape of her neck and immediately started to loop her finger around one of the thickest curls in her hair. She always did that when she was particularly nervous.

As she waited for her turn, Ino suddenly flanked her side.

“Good morning, Shin.” The blonde said with a cat’s smile.

“Ah, Ino-chan, good morning! Ready for the exam?”

“Of course! I’ll ace it. What about you?”

“Well, I’m not 100% certain I’ll pass… but I’ll do my best!”

Ino’s smile softened slightly. “I’m sure you will. But there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

Shin’s smile didn’t falter. “Yes?”

“I noticed you’re letting your hair grow.”

“I am actually! Sometimes it can’t be a real bother though… These hair clips can barely hold my bangs. I tried wearing a headband for a day, but it felt really itchy.”

“Well, is there any specific reason you decided to grow out your hair?”

Suddenly Sakura appeared at her other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Yes, Shin! Tell us, why did you start growing out your hair?”

Ino glared at Sakura over Shin’s head as the later lowered her gaze to the floor, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. The pink-haired girl glared right back at the blonde.

“Ah… you see… It’s a bit embarrassing.” Shin began, successfully catching both girls’ attention and making them fix their glare on the back of her head.

“YES?”

“I-I noticed you were all were growing out your hair too… And you all look really pretty.” Shin began, face becoming redder by the second. “So I… I thought I’d try it out too.”

Sakura and Ino exchanged a look.

“It’s not because you like Sasuke-kun, then?” The first asked, quite directly.

“Uh?” Shin let out, appearing every bit as confused as she felt.

“Oh, Sakura! You really have no shame do you?” Ino exclaimed, wrapping both arms around Shin and pulling to girl to herself. “Embarrassing Shin like that just because you were jealous!”

Sakura rose a fist at Ino. “You were the one that started it!”

“Yes, because I was curious as a friend! By the way, I really like your new look, Shin!”

“T-Thanks? I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause any trouble between you two...”

“It’s not your fault, Shin.” Sakura reassured, still glaring at Ino. “It’s that Ino Pig’s fault!”

Ino pushed Shin to the side and got face to face with Sakura. “Who are you calling a pig, Billboard Brow?”

Immediately the two fell into one of their arguments as the rest of the class watched in a mix of worry and annoyance. Shin wondered if she should try and stop them, though she knew by experience that they’d fight until they were both tired of it, regardless of what anyone else said.

The door to the classroom opened them. Iruka-sensei took a look at what was happening and sighed before calling the next name.

“Next up, Uchiha Sasuke!”

Now, that put a pause on things as the two girls - and almost every other girl in class - yelled out a “Good luck, Sasuke-kun!”

Shin didn’t really understand what the whole hype about Sasuke was. Despite having a similar backstory as the boy she honestly found it difficult to even make polite conversation with him. He was too intimidating.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to call him a friend as well.

---

After wishing a few more minutes of waiting Shin was led into a classroom with only Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei. The first smiled at her kindly.

“In order to pass this test, you must create clones of yourself, Shin-kun.”

Shin gulped. Creating clones wasn’t her best technique but she thought she could manage at least a decent copy. Naruto on the other hand…

Naruto-chan, I hope you practiced.

“Whenever you’re ready, Shin-kun.” Mizuki-sensei spoke.

“Ah! Sorry!, Here I go! Bunshin no Jutsu!”

The teachers watched in slight confusion as Shin’s body flashed blue for a second before a clone appeared by her side. It was just one, but it stood tall and fully functional in front of them.

“Is that enough?” Shin asked as she dried the sweat off her brow. She really had a hard time with any kind of Ninjutsu. “I think I can do one more if you want.”

Please, say you don’t.

Iruka and Mizuki exchanged a glance and a shrug.

“Your chakra seemed to falter for a moment there, but I’ll let it pass. The clone is good and seems functional. Congratulations, Shin-chan!” Iruka said with a big smile as he offered her a Konoha forehead protector. “As your teacher, I’m very proud of you. I’m sure you’ll be a great Shinobi.”

Shin blushed and grabbed her prize.

“I’ll work hard, Iruka-sensei.”

---

Shin ran out of the Academy Building with her forehead protector in hand and a big grin on her face. Brown eyes darted from side to side, looking for a familiar head of blonde hair.

“Hey, isn’t that the kid who…”

“Yeah, that’s him. The only one who failed.”

“Serves him right.”

Shin knew that condescending tone, and even if she had never understood where it came from she knew exactly who it was directed at. Following the women’s line of sight, Shin found the person she was looking for, sitting on a swing with a sad look on his face.

Shin hid her forehead protector inside one of her pockets and took a step towards him.

“Narut-”

“Shin, we made it!”

Before she understood what had happened Shin had been pulled back by none other than Ino, who was grinning and jumping up and down in excitement with her hand clasped between both of hers.

“Ino-chan, congratulations!”

“Tell me, where are you going to tie your protector? I was thinking of wearing mine as a belt!”

Shin smiled. “That’s a good idea. I think I’ll wear mine around my left arm-”

“Ah! Sasuke-kun! Congratulations to you too!”

Faster than Ino had grabbed her hand, she let her it go to run to Sasuke, alongside the other girls in class. Shin sighed but couldn’t help the amused little curl of her lips as she watched them. She didn’t understand their crush on Sasuke, but she couldn’t deny it must be nice to care about someone like that.

Shin turned back to the swing where Naruto was. To her surprise though he wasn’t alone anymore; Mizuki-sensei was talking to him.

And just as she was about to walk towards them, they left.

That’s weird.

---

Shin had looked for Naruto everywhere. She went to Ichiraku, his apartment, her apartment, the Hokage Rock, and nothing. The sun was already setting and there was no sign of the blonde.

Until nightfall came and with it a desperate-looking Iruka knocking at her door, pulling her away from her lute-practice.

“Iruka-sensei, what time is it? Did something happen?”

“Shin-kun! Do you know where Naruto is?!”

The girl’s eyes widened as worry immediately gripped at her heart. “I haven’t talked to him since before the Exam. Did something happen to him? Is he alright?!”

“I can’t talk about it right now. I need to go!”

Just as Iruka was about to jump off Shin grabbed the back of his vest.

“Iruka-sensei, I saw Mizuki-sensei talking to Naruto-chan after the Exam. They ran off before I could talk to them.” Shin spoke, voice hiding nothing of her anxiety. “I don’t know if this is of any help but… I thought it strange. Mizuki-sensei never was one to talk to us after class like you usually do.”

Iruka frowned at her words. “I see. Thanks, Shin-kun. You go back inside and I’ll find Naruto, alright?”

Shin nodded. “Let me know when you find him. I’ll be awake.”

---

The sun was starting to rise in the horizon and Shin hadn’t slept at all. It wasn’t uncommon for her to suffer from insomnia, but it was the first time she had been propositaly depriving herself from sleep. She brewed green tea and coffee, paced around her apartment and practiced playing her father’s old lute.

Naruto-chan, Iruka-sensei, where are you two?

The girl sighed and put her kettle back on the stove, ready for her second pot of coffee, when there was a knock at her door.

She ran to it and pulled it open desperately, almost tearing the thing off its hinges. What met her eyes was a surprised Iruka-sensei and a sheepish-looking Naruto.

Naruto was wearing a Shinobi forehead protector.

“Sorry to worry you, Shin-chan. It took me a little longer, but I caught up to you. Believe it!”

Tears overflowing from her eyes, Shin smiled and pulled Naruto in a hug.

“I never doubted you would, Naruto-chan.”

#fanfic #chapter 2 #naruto #uzumaki naruto #Konoha #iruka #umino iruka #ino #yamanaka ino #sakura #haruno sakura #shin #osasu shin #oc #mizuki #genin #gaara x oc #friendship

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crazyclouds5281 · 3 years

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Unnamed Naruto fic part 1

“Alright everybody, listen up!” Umino Iruka called, cutting through the chatter of his students. “First things first, congratulations to all of you for passing the final exam!” The majority of the students cheered. Iruka gave them a moment to bask in their success, smiling gently, before he raised a hand to quiet them down. “Today, I’ll be announcing team assignments! Please listen carefully!”

Uchiha Sasuke scowled. He did not want to be here, and he most definitely did not want to be put on a team with any of these incompetents. He steepled his hands in front of his chin, fingers covering the intense frown the tugged on his lips. Those two fools Yamanaka and Haruno were quietly fighting over who would get to sit on his right side, since on his left was the window. Iruka might not have noticed them, but Sasuke had no choice but to listen to these idiots. Inuzuka’s mutt was yipping excitedly, Nara yawned loudly every five seconds, and Akimichi was crunching on chips at the speed of light, the plastic packaging crinkling between his sausage fingers. All of it served to put Sasuke in an even worse mood than he was usually in.

“Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke,” Sasuke eyes flicked to the Chunin upon hearing his name, “Haruno Sakura,” cue the screeching and bickering, “And Uzumaki Naruto.” Suddenly, the classroom fell silent. “Your Jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi.” Yamanaka was the one to ask the question on everyone’s mind.

“Sensei, who’s Uzumaki Naruto?” she asked. Surprisingly, it was Inuzuka who answered.

“Wait, wasn’t he that annoying bastard who wore orange back in the first year of the Academy? What the hell happened to him?”

Iruka’s smile was a little strained. “Don’t worry about it,” he said simply, then continued what he was doing. “Team Eight will be…”

--------------------------

Two hours. That’s how long Sasuke waited in that room with that damned banshee Haruno, who kept endlessly asking him on dates and trying to talk to him. He completely ignored her, his furious gaze burning a hole into the chalkboard at the front of the room, yet she would not take the hint! If he remained silent for a solid 120 minutes, why did she think he would agree to go on a date with her after the two hour mark? This was supposed to be the smartest kunoichi in their class? Pathetic.

Sasuke was saved from his personal hell when the door opened, and a tall man walked in. He had spiky white hair, his hitai-ate covered his left eye, and a mask covered the rest of his face, save for his right eye. He had an orange book open in one hand, and was dressed in the usual uniform of a Konoha Jounin. The man only glanced up from his book once, eye flickering over him and Haruno at lightning speeds, so fast Sasuke wasn’t sure if he’d actually seen it.

“I’m your sensei, Hatake Kakashi,” the man droned. “Hmm… My first impression of you is… You’re boring. Meet me on the roof.” The man vanished in a blur, an instant before Haruno began yelling at him. Sasuke’s scowl deepened to the point where his facial muscles started to hurt, and he got up out of his seat.

“Sasuke-kun, I don’t think you’re boring,” Haruno said reassuringly, batting her eyelashes in a failed attempt to look pretty. The only reason Sasuke paid her any attention was because she was standing in his way.

“Move,” he commanded, then shoved past her before she could even comprehend his words. He had no patience for her. After these last few hours, spent in only her company, he doubted he ever would. He completely ignored her gasp as she rubbed at the shoulder he’d bumped into, a wide grin on her face. He had more important things to worry about.

--------------------------

There was a boy sitting on the bench when Sasuke and Haruno finally arrived at the roof. He was dressed in beige cargo pants and a gray t-shirt with Konoha’s leaf symbol. He had blond hair, and whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Sasuke scoffed; was this kid a civilian? He didn’t even have a shuriken pouch! Looks like he was in for a rough ride. Hopefully, he’d be promoted to Chunin soon, and be able to leave behind these worthless tools. He plopped himself down across from the blond.

“Um, are you Uzumaki Naruto?” Haruno asked hesitantly, sitting right next to Sasuke, much to chagrin. The boy stared at them with big blue eyes for a moment, before nodding. “Well, I’m Haruno Sakura! We’re gonna be on a team together, so I hope we can become friends!” she said brightly. Uzumaki just stared, as if he didn’t understand what she was saying. Thankfully, before the kunoichi could go on a rampage about him being rude, their Jounin sensei appeared, sitting right in the middle of his students.

“You two sure took your time,” Kakashi said to Sasuke and Haruno. It might’ve been a reprimand, but his bland tone made it sound like he didn’t even care. Sasuke bristled; this man had no right to talk, not after showing up two hours late. Of course, he wouldn’t say anything. Respect for his superiors had been drilled into Sasuke’s head by his father.

Haruno had no such inhibitions. “Us!?” she bellowed, standing up and raising a clenched fist. “You’re the one that’s two hours late!”

Kakashi just waved her off. “I guess the four of us are going to be a team, so we may as well introduce ourselves. Pinkie, you can go first.”

Haruno tilted her head. “What information should I include?” she asked, which was a dumb question. Information was valuable; you only parted with things that were inconsequential, and not even that, if you could help it.

“Oh, you know, your name, what you like, what you dislike, your dream. Simple stuff like that.” Haruno hesitated, and Sasuke wanted to rip his hair out. What part of this was so difficult!?

“Do you think you could go first, Sensei? I’d like an example.”

Kakashi heaved a put-upon sigh, and Sasuke could totally relate. “I suppose. I’m Hatake Kakashi. I like… Things that you aren’t old enough to understand yet. My dislikes… There are a few of those. My hobbies… You kids are still too young for that. My dream… Hm. Anyways, your turn, Pinkie.”

“That hardly told us anything at all!” Haruno screeched. When all three males silently stared at her for a solid five seconds, she deflated. “My name is Haruno Sakura! I like…” She glanced at Sasuke. “My hobbies are…” She glanced at Sasuke. “And my dream is…” This time, she stared at him for a few moments, stars in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks. Sasuke actually wanted to vomit, and had to force himself not to inch away from the pink-haired girl- there just wasn’t enough bench for him to scoot onto. “Oh! And I dislike Ino-pig!” she roared.

A judgmental silence fell upon the group, before Kakashi turned to Sasuke. “Well, I suppose it’s your turn.” Sasuke nodded.

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke.” That was common knowledge, so it was safe to divulge. There wasn’t even a point in trying to keep it secret in this village. “I dislike a lot of things, and I don’t particularly like anything.” Lie. He liked tomatoes, and enjoyed spending time with his mother. “My hobby is training.” A safe answer, one which was common amongst shinobi, and wouldn’t be seen as anything out of the ordinary. It also had the advantage of being true. “My dream…” Sasuke trailed off. There was no point telling these people. His so-called teammates had no right to that knowledge.

Kakashi nodded, and turned to Uzumaki. “Your turn.”

“Uzumaki Naruto. My hobby is training. I like ramen, and I don’t really dislike anything. My dream is to become a skilled shinobi.”

Kakashi nodded. “Right, good talk. Tomorrow, I want you three to meet me on Training Ground Three… Around eight should be good. We’ll be doing a little survival exercise, but I plan on putting you through your paces, so if you don’t wanna throw up, you probably shouldn’t eat breakfast. See you tomorrow!” With a cheerful wave, the Jounin disappeared in a blur of motion, and the three newly-appointed Genin were left alone.

Actually, make that two. Uzumaki had vanished as well.

--------------------------

0800 sharp. Sasuke ambled onto Training Ground Three, which was pretty standard for a Konoha training ground. A clearing with some log posts, surrounded by a forest. Sasuke took a seat at the base of one of the posts, wondering if his sensei would be late today, as well. Perhaps he’d only done that yesterday as a sort of test, to see just how patient his new students could be. After all, infiltration and stealth missions often required laying in wait, sometimes for hours on end, not moving a muscle or even breathing too loudly. Or so Sasuke had been told. A leaf fluttered by on the gentle wind, and Sasuke snatched it out of the air. Might as well occupy himself somehow. He placed the leaf on the back of his hand, using his chakra to make it stick. This was the chakra control exercise he’d learned in the Academy.

For five minutes, Sasuke entertained himself by making the leaf flow across his skin in intricate patterns, until a call shattered his concentration.

“Sasuke-kun~!”

Great.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us, Sasuke-kun,” Haruno said in an attempt to be seductive. “Hey, after this survival exercise is over, do you wanna go on a date-?” And that was when he stopped listening.

--------------------------

Two hours. Again. Sasuke really hoped this wasn’t a habit. Kakashi wandered towards his two students with the speed of a snail, orange book in one hand, and a plastic bag in the other. When he finally came to a stop in front of him and Haruno, the man only glanced up for the barest of moments before returning to his reading.

“Where’s Naruto?” he asked.

“He’s right behind you, Sensei,” Haruno answered, pointing behind the Jounin. Single eye narrowed, the Jounin whirled around, and true to word, there was Uzumaki. He stared up at Kakashi blankly. The blond was wearing clothes similar to yesterday, only with different colors. His shirt was a forest green, and his shorts navy blue. Again, he didn’t have any equipment pouches, or even his hitai-ate.

Kakashi took a step back, looking at the boy warily. “O-kay then,” he muttered. “Well, now that we’re all here, I’ll explain what’s going to happen. Today, you three are going to be taking your Genin Exam!”

Thankfully, Shisui had warned him, and Sasuke knew this was coming, though his cousin had been rather tight-lipped on what he’d be doing for this secondary test. Uzumaki remained silent as ever, but there was no surprise on his face. Someone must’ve tipped him off as well. Obviously, Haruno hadn’t gotten the memo.

“What!? But, we already passed the Academy Exam!” she wailed, trembling at the thought of an exam she hadn’t studied for rigorously.

“Exactly,” Kakashi agreed genially, “The Academy Exam. That was only to prove you weren’t completely worthless. The Genin Exam is different; it’s to determine whether or not you’re ready for the real world. Fail, and you’ll be going back to the Academy for another year. If you fail your second Genin Exam after that, then you’ll be blacklisted, unable to ever become a shinobi within the bounds of Konohagakure. Get it?” Stunned, Haruno could only nod. “Wonderful! So, for your exam, you three will have to get one of these bells.” The man pulled a pair of silver bells from his pouch, jangling them lightly. “You’ll have until noon to do it.” He pulled out an alarm clock now, setting it on top of a rock behind the log posts. He placed his plastic bag down next to it.

“But, Sensei, there’s only two bells, and three of us!” Haruno cried.

“Well spotted, Sakura!” Kakashi complimented. “And the reason for that is simple; only two of you can pass!”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. This was another part Shisui hadn’t told him about. Sasuke had only ever seen Genin teams with three members, not counting their Jounin sensei. Then again, it wasn’t like he’d seen every single Genin team in Konoha, so he couldn’t say for certain whether Kakashi was lying or not. Actually, Sasuke kinda hoped he wasn’t; at least that way, he’d be sure to be rid of Haruno.

“Ah, maybe I should be a bit more clear,” Kakashi said, seemingly giving hope to the despairing Haruno. “You can only pass if you get a bell. Which means, if none of you get a bell, then none of you pass. If one of you gets a bell, then only they pass. It’s just that only a maximum of two of you can pass. Got it?”

“But, that’s not fair, Kakashi-sensei!” Haruno yelled. “We already graduated from the Academy! Why should we have to do another test!?” Kakashi blinked, as if astounded by her stupidity, before raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not fair?” he asked softly, his tone setting off alarm bells in Sasuke’s head. Haruno, completely oblivious to the rising danger, nodded emphatically.

“Right, it’s not!”

Kakashi closed his orange book, tucking it away. “So, is it fair when the Hokage orders a suicide mission?”

“What?”

He took a step forward, closing half the distance between him and Haruno. “Is it fair when the client gives bad intel, and you find yourself surrounded by A-rank nuke-nin when you were only supposed to take out some lowly bandits?”

“Uh-”

He took another step, looming over the diminutive girl, a menacing aura surrounding him. “Is it fair, when your teammate, the person you thought you could trust with your life, stabs you in the back and leaves you for dead?”

“N-no…” Haruno whispered, thoroughly cowed. The tension blanketing the clearing dispersed, and Kakashi was right back where he was a moment ago, book back in his hand as if nothing had happened.

“I wonder if I should just fail you three right now?” he asked nobody in particular, making Sasuke tense up. If he failed because Haruno was a naive idiot… “Unfortunately for me, I have to follow protocol, or I’ll get written up for sabotaging your careers. How troublesome.”

“Shikaku-san won’t appreciate you using his line,” Uzumaki muttered, the first words he’d ever spoken in Sasuke’s presence. His voice was incredibly soft, so much so that Sasuke nearly had to strain to hear it. Kakashi held up his free hand in half of the traditional pleading gesture.

“Aha, let’s just keep that between us, shall we?” he asked with a nervous chuckle. Uzumaki didn’t respond. “Anyways, I think I’ve wasted enough of your time. Remember, you have ‘till noon- no bell, no pass, and if you don’t come at me with the intent to kill, you will fail. Ready? Start!”

Sasuke rushed into the forest to find a hiding spot, not paying any attention to what his teammates did. They were on their own.

--------------------------

On the one hand, Kakashi just wanted this over with. He didn’t want to be saddled with some stupid, fresh out the Academy Genin. He was actually quite proud of how he’d managed to avoid being stuck as a Jounin sensei for so many years. The Nidaime’s Bell Test was ingenious, since most of these kids were too arrogant, too assured in their skills to even think about working together. The fact that they honestly thought they could take on a Jounin by themself was laughable, and Kakashi always felt a sort of dark glee when he sent those cocky little clowns back to the Academy.

On the other hand, the Sandaime had declared it was time for Naruto to be put on a Genin team with shinobi his age, and so here he was. Speaking of Naruto...

“Aren’t you going to hide?” he asked Naruto. The blond was still standing next to him. Rather than respond, Naruto just held up a red string, which was attached to…

“Eh?” Kakashi looked down at his waist, and found that only one bell was now tied to his hip. He glanced at the bell in Naruto’s hand, then back at his waist, then back at Naruto. “Eh!?”

“...I’m leaving,” Naruto said, turning around and walking off the training ground. Kakashi could only watch, stunned.

“Wait, my bell!”

#naruto #naruto fanfiction

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thetoxicstrawberry · 7 years

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Thank you @falling-off-midgard for beta reading this for me! I can’t even express how grateful I am for all�� your thoughts and comments. I’ve made it my mission to drag you into this ship eventually.

@madakaka

Summary: An alternate universe in which Madara survives the war and spends his days flirting with irritating the Hokage.

The Price of Atonement

Ch. 1: Limbo

Ch. 2: The Losing End

He should have known better.

When Madara made his request to that dim-witted Hokage, he should have predicted something like this would happen. But he didn’t and he acknowledged it was only due to his own insistence that he ended up in such a mess, but he couldn’t back out. Doing so would give the other man the satisfaction of winning and there were few things Madara hated more than losing.

Hashirama used to tease that Madara wasn’t gifted with natural talent, only pettiness and a stubborn drive for competition, which was mistaken for genius. He disagreed, of course, believing instead that it was a combination of both that drove him to perfection.

He had been this way as far back as he could remember. First with his siblings, who provided him with amusement, but not much contest. Being the eldest by birthright gave him an edge against them, making him the winner in everything from fighting to tree climbing. It wasn’t until that day by the river that he would find his true rival.

Against Hashirama, he could finally test his skill. It wasn’t merely the trivial competitions, like rock skipping, that excited him either. It was his desire to impress Hashirama. To be acknowledged by him as an equal. More than an equal.

Growing up during the Warring States Era, there wasn’t much time for praise. Children only found honor in survival, so every bit of approval that Hashirama imparted was a treasure to Madara.

As they grew and the fighting intensified, his competitive nature merged with his desire to protect. Guilt over his inability to save his younger siblings deepened his pursuit of power in an effort to shelter Izuna from the same fate as their siblings.

And when he finally lost Izuna, it left a wound on his heart that never healed. He tried to focus that energy on building the village—the dream that Hashirama and he shared, and for a short time it worked. Until it didn’t anymore. His combative nature morphed into a sick madness which sought to cleanse this world in order to make it anew, with only Hashirama’s strength to challenge that goal.

But all of it was for nothing, he realized. Hashirama was truly gone now. His edo tensei faded into dust. His only competition now was the Rokudaime and, if his tallies were correct, Madara was currently losing. He frowned at that thought, not really certain how the power balance always seemed to skew in favor of the gray-haired nuisance.

The doors in front of him parted, breaking Madara from his thoughts. A figure hesitated in the entryway for a moment before walking over to greet him. Madara noted the thick scarring across the bridge of his nose and the annoying smile pointed in his direction. He scowled back at him, but wasn’t sure if it was received or muted by the shade of the tree he stood under.

“Uchiha Madara,” he said. “My name is Umino Iruka. I’m a teacher here at the academy.”

Madara didn’t even brush a glance at his outstretched hand, only defaulted back to his usual unwavering stare. He did, however, notice the slight tremble in the younger man’s voice.

“Okay then,” Iruka said, moving his hands into his pockets to hide his uncertainty. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. I didn’t realize you were here. One of the kids saw you through the window. They’re really excited to meet you.”

“I’m thrilled,” Madara deadpanned.

“I can see that,” Iruka said, either not noticing his sarcasm or simply ignoring it. “You’ve even dressed up for the occasion.”

“This is my normal attire.”

“Well it’s very…authentic.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Madara growled.

Iruka raised his hands in a show of mercy. “Nothing, nothing. Just that it lends to the period. That’s all. The kids will love it.”

Madara’s eyebrow twitched. Was this little squirrel calling him outdated?!

He hadn’t given much thought to his clothing since he’d been living back in Konoha. In truth, he’d never given much thought to it in general. Always preferring functional over flashy, Madara glanced down at his crimson body armor, and wondered for the first time since his resurrection, if maybe it could use some revision.

But what would he wear instead? Not that horrid green flak jacket, like the man in front of him was donning now. He sneered at it and hoped the obnoxious tree rodent took notice.

“Authentic,” Madara mumbled. “You must mean well-crafted.”

“Yes, very well-crafted. I can see that. The detail.” The quake in Iruka’s voice increased as he took hold of Madara’s shoulders and gave the metal plates there a slight shake, testing it out. “They don’t make things like they used to, ha ha!”

Iruka stopped when he caught sight of the puzzled disgust on Madara’s face and realized that breaking the touch barrier with him was akin to shoving one’s hands into a badger den. He quickly increased the space between them to a safer distance and cleared his throat.

“We better not keep them waiting any longer.”

Madara rolled his eyes and took a few steps towards the flustered teacher. “Let’s get this over with.”

Flinching slightly, Iruka turned to lead the agitated Uchiha into the academy, trying to forget the danger of having Madara at his back.

As they crossed the threshold, Madara could hear the muffled sounds of voices and shrill laughter tucked behind closed doors. He remembered sitting atop the Hokage mountain with Hashirama as they dreamed together of a day when children could spend their years in a classroom rather than dying on the battlefield. Something warmed inside of him, starting in his middle and worked its way into the back of his throat. At first, he thought it was another chakra attack coming on, but instead it was---satisfaction?

He groaned and Iruka stopped to look at him.

“If this is too much trouble, we can do it another day or I can ask Kakashi…”

“It isn’t that,” Madara snapped. “It was only a passing thought. It would only disappoint the little brats anyway.”

As they entered the classroom, all the chattering stopped as twenty or so tiny heads turned to look at them.

“Okay everyone, our special guest has arrived,” Iruka announced and Madara tensed. “I would like to introduce you to Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of our great village.” He then turned to Madara and said in a lower voice, “I’ll let you take it from here.”

Iruka nodded at him and moved to the back, as Madara turned to face the quiet intensity of the class. He swallowed and moved his eyes from one corner to the next to take in all the miniature faces focused solely on him. He couldn’t help but notice that the positioning of the desks gave the children the high ground, putting him at a disadvantage.

“Hi,” he said with a short wave, realized the awkwardness of it and rested the hand back at his hip, but that was too cocky, so it moved it to his side. He swallowed again.

“Your Hokage asked me to come speak to you today,” he said and paused, his mind frantically searching for what to say. Why hadn’t he thought to prepare for this ahead of time? “As the squir—Iruka-sensei said, I, along with Senju Hashirama and Tobirama created this village. You probably know them more as the First and Second Hokage.”

From the back, a tiny hand shot up.

“Yes?” Madara said, pointing a gloved finger at the petite pig-tailed girl.

“Were you ever Hokage?” she asked excitedly.

“No.”

“Oh,” she said, shoulders slumping. “Why not?”

“Politics,” Madara grumbled. “And a meddling younger brother.”

“Your brother didn’t want you to be Hokage?”

“Not my brother,” Madara said. “Hashirama’s.”

“The First Hokage?”

“The First’s brother, Tobirama. He didn’t want me to be Hokage,” Madara corrected.

“Why?” another child asked.

“How should I know? Tobirama was an uptight obnoxious little di…”

Iruka coughed to cut Madara off.

“Moving on,” Madara said. “As I was saying, before the consecration of the village, shinobi typically belonged to familial units and clans and these clans…”

Another hand shot up.

“Yes, you. What is your question?”

“If you’re, like, a hundred years old, why do you only look fifty?” the boy asked.

“Fifty? You think I look fifty?” Madara twitched and Iruka made a choking sound from behind him. He couldn’t tell if it was mirth or fear for the poor child that dared tell him he looked half a century old. “I will have you know, I was revived so my visage would be during my prime.”

The boy cocked his head, confused. “I don’t know what that means.”

“More like thirty to thirty-five,” Madara sighed.

“That’s still old.”

“That’s not old!” Iruka snapped and then mumbled, “I’m almost thirty.”

“Fair enough,” Madara said, crossing his arms. “Any more questions?”

Eight more hands shot up.

------------------------------------------

Kakashi swallowed a chuckle. From where he was perched, he had a perfect view of Madara. He hunkered down further when a small laugh slipped through his lips and he hoped it wasn’t heard through the open window.

He was surprised to admit this outcome hadn’t been one he’d expected. He’d figured ten minutes tops before the children would have riled Madara enough that he stormed out of the classroom and marched towards the Hokage office to accost him in one fiery ball of bushy haired rage.

Kakashi had predicted that Madara would arrive to the academy puffed up and annoyed, if he even showed up at all. He never thought Madara would address the children with mild-mannered patience, or even more shocking, uncertainty.

This side of Madara was new and Kakashi wondered if this was the Madara that Hashirama had placed so much faith in. Not the mentally unhinged man he had fought during the fourth Shinobi war, but the one who set his pride aside to ally with an enemy in order to protect the future.

“Has he murdered anyone yet?”

Kakashi flinched at the sound of Sasuke’s voice beside him. He had been so busy listening, he hadn’t heard his approach.

“Surprisingly, no.”

Sasuke shrugged and leaned into the building. “I suppose there is still time.”

“He’s good with them,” Kakashi said. “The children, I mean.”

“I thought he hated kids.”

“Me too,” agreed Kakashi. “Last week, I had to explain to him that I couldn’t execute children for disrespect. It makes me wonder how much of Madara’s behavior is simply posturing.”

The younger Uchiha grinned. “Without his chakra, everything he does is bravado.”

“Be careful, Sasuke, and never forget who he is. It’s still too soon to let your guard down.”

“Hmph,” he snorted. “I know that. Even without power, he’s still a crafty bastard.”

“Yes, he is.” Kakashi returned his gaze back to the classroom just in time to see a small smile play across Madara’s face.

------------------------------------------

The final bell rang and the kids poured out of the academy door. Madara followed not far behind them with Iruka close at his heels.

“It is true what you said about the Second?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Even the part where...”

“All of it is true,” Madara said and then groaned when he caught sight of the Hokage.

“We really need to do this again sometime.” Iruka was still talking, but Madara had tuned him out the second he laid eyes on Kakashi, hands in his pockets, standing in the same spot he had occupied earlier. “I’ll talk to the other teachers. I’m sure they’d love for you to come speak to their students too.”

“Did you enjoy the show?” Madara asked smoothly.

“I did,” Kakashi said, shutting his eyes in a quick smile. “I’m thinking about giving you your own class to teach.”

“I would sooner smother you in your sleep before I let that happen,” Madara sneered.

“Who says I sleep?”

“Kakashi-sama,” Iruka said. “Thank you again for setting this up. The kids enjoyed having a real life historical figure teach them about the past. Next time, maybe we could hold an assembly.”

“You can leave now,” Madara ordered.

Iruka paused for a moment and looked to Kakashi for guidance.

“Come by my office tomorrow. We can talk about it then.”

Iruka bowed and thanked them again, before he walked back into the school, the earlier bounce in his step gone.

As soon as he retreated, Madara turned and asked, “How long were you watching?”

“Long enough to see the great Madara blush in front of classroom full of kids. I never expected you to be so shy.”

Madara made a sound that was almost a laugh. “You thought you had bested me.”

“I’ll try harder next time.”

“I’m sure you��re already planning my next great adventure.”

The way Madara was looking at him, with half narrowed eyes, Kakashi thought he almost looked amused. There was a slight bit of mischief behind his gaze and Kakashi wondered if Madara simply enjoyed defiance.

“I have some ideas in mind. Naruto offered to help keep you occupied.”

“No, absolutely not,” Madara said. “I refuse to engage in any activity that requires the orange annoyance.”

“You shouldn’t have told me that, Dara-chan.”

This time he did laugh and shot Kakashi a full smile. “Oh, just remember, my dear Hokage, you really do have to fall asleep sometime.”

#kakashi #madara #naruto #madakaka #iruka #sasuke #the price of atonement #my writings #fanfiction #au #haha edited #I'm a moron

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