Naruto knocked on the door of the Principal's office, warily casting a glance at his older brother over his shoulder and frowning. Kurama had forcefully insisted on coming with him to school after a quick call to his secretary who raised no questions about his possibly delayed arrival to work today and promptly drove Naruto to Konoha High at a speed that made Naruto hold onto his seatbelt for dear life. His questions were left unasked and drowned by the promise that he'll never ride a vehicle that Kurama was driving if he can't help it.

Heaving a deep sigh as he waited for Tsunade to give the permission for entrance, he let his gaze sweep over the isolated hallways of the school. It was unsurprising; it's half an hour past his first period so most students should be in their classrooms right now.

Well, there's also the usual lot who'd rather skip classes for the fun of it whom Naruto might be familiar with.

"Come in," he heard Tsunade call from the other side of the door.

Naruto adjusted his bag on his shoulder and stepped into the room, uncertain yet determined to face the questions that the woman must have for him regarding his absence. Kurama quietly followed behind him with his hands inside his pockets, seemingly taking in the interior of the office.

With one last glance towards his brother, Naruto turned to face Tsunade with a bright smile and said, "It's been a while, old hag."

There was no response.

The silence wore on, much to his discomfort, and he was forced to open his eyes to see why the woman didn't punch him straight out of her window at being called 'old hag'. It might have to do with the distance between him and the blonde but then, she usually had an object close enough to hurl whenever he drops by to annoy her if he was too far out of reach.

"…Excuse me, boy," Tsunade slowly said with a skeptical frown as she stared at Naruto- or specifically, his uniform, "Why are you wearing Konoha High's uniform? I believe I haven't seen you around before."

Naruto blinked twice.

…What?

"And you," she gestured her head to Kurama's direction with a glare, "We aren't accepting enrollment at this time of the year unless you're actually willing to catch up with several months' worth of school work and… May I ask what you find so fucking funny that you'd laugh and dare to interrupt me?"

Kurama held his hand over his mouth and tried – dear lord, he tried – to muffle his laughter, a little too amused with the entire situation. He turned away, his shoulders trembling from the effort of suppressing his mirth.

"…Old hag, you really are a little too old for school management," Naruto deadpanned, voice monotonous. "Maybe it's about time you ask Shizune-chan to take your place.

"For," Kurama struggled to say, "For once… I- I agree with – pfft – Naruto, Tsunade-san…"

Tsunade was quick to change from confusion to full-blown embarrassment.

And then to anger.

She stood up from her seat and all the humor drained out of Kurama's face as he eyed the woman's clenched fist, knowing quite well where this was headed in a few seconds if they don't do something. He quickly grabbed his brother's wrist and unhesitatingly shoved him in front of the woman who was slowly advancing towards them.

As soon as the blue-eyed youth came within arm's reach, Tsunade raised her fist and slammed it down on Naruto's head, the sound of his teeth clacking fairly audible over the silence that now fell over the room.

Kurama winced in spite of himself.

That had to hurt.

"You idiot," Tsunade murmured. Her hand fell to her side and she looked him in the eyes, hazel orbs alight with genuine concern and confusion. She was asking him silently, almost pleadingly. After a few moments, he guessed that his eyes mirrored his indecision from the woman's reaction. She withdrew and stepped back, a smile of comprehension on her face as she crossed her arms above her well-blessed chest.

"Well, you must be so damned happy that you got to spend an entire week off with Kurama, eh, brat?" she asked. Naruto was sure that she hadn't missed the way he visibly sagged from relief. "Although to be honest, with all the classes that you've skipped, I'm quite surprised that you still found the need to ask permission for an entire week off. I mean, the number of classes you've missed is far greater than a mere seven days."

Naruto could feel his brother staring at him, although he didn't quite understand why Kurama would be angry over the fact that he failed to attend some – though that would be a little bit of a stretch - classes. He could make it up to his teachers once he decides to finally attend their classes – which he rarely ever does but Kurama didn't need to know that – but no matter how you look at it, Naruto thought, skipping classes doesn't compare to being used as a sacrificial lamb for the demon. His head was throbbing from the collision, damn it.

"And those," Tsunade emphasized as she stared at the tattoos on his face, the black highlights that disrupted the vibrant color of his hair and the piercings that she was positive weren't there before in his ears, "You do know that you can get expelled because you have those, right?"

Naruto was quick to defend himself. "If expelling students for getting tattoos and piercings was a thing, almost half of the entire student population of Konoha High would be forced to leave. Besides, I thought appearances didn't matter as long as they kept their academics above average and shit?"

"That speech is reserved for those who actually maintain their grades above average, Naruto," Kyuubi pointed out.

"Hey, my grades are above average!"

Tsunade snorted. "Barely."

"Why do I feel like you two are teaming up against me?" Naruto questioned exasperatedly. "Shouldn't we like, talk about the fact that the old hag mistook us for completely different people and the way you eagerly used me as a human shield, Kurama?"

Kurama averted his gaze. "That's just my way of showing brotherly affection."

"If by brotherly affection you mean throwing me out like a piece of steak in front of a pack of hungry wolves, then fuck you."

"Language, Naruto. Although I'd agree with one thing- that must have been one of the best accidental pranks we've ever pulled in a while."

Tsunade scowled at that. Anyone would've made the same mistake. Red hair wasn't really an unusual thing nowadays and the mere fact that Kurama combed his hair back significantly heightened the chance of mistaking him for somebody else. His attire which consisted of a leather jacket over a fit grey shirt and skinny jeans also made him look several years younger. Plus, she hadn't seen Kurama in a while.

As for Naruto- well, that was sort of obvious. Piercings, tattoos, and the slight change in his hairstyle… combine all three and it was hard to recognize the two of them.

"Naruto, I'm quite sure that you're half an hour past first period. What the hell are you still doing here? And you, Kurama, don't you have a company to manage?"

Naruto childishly pouted and Kurama snickered. The woman's effort to distract them wasn't working as well as she thinks it would.

"I guess," Naruto answered with a shrug. "Are you gonna stay here to talk for a little longer or are you heading back to work, Kurama?"

His brother glanced at his wristwatch and nodded. "I'll be heading off to work after I drop you to your classroom. I just dropped by to say hi, anyway."

Tsunade nodded in understanding as she casually waved the brothers away with her hand. She returned to her seat and sighed. The sooner they were gone, the less chances of being humiliated. "Go on, then. There's no point with delaying yourselves."

They smiled and left the room, vaguely hearing the sound of something like a drawer being opened before the door completely closed behind their backs.

They shared a look.

"She's drinking," Kurama said.

"She's definitely drinking," Naruto returned.

The red-haired man shook his head as they slowly began to walk at a pace that was not at all hurried, their voices hushed in fear of somebody overhearing them now that they were outside of the office.

"It makes you wonder just how she manages a prestigious school like Konoha High and maintains its reputation. I often hear about the potential of the students and how the faculty of the school brings out and utilizes said potential for the best of the people here."

Naruto shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head. "Well, what can I say? The principal has a habit of betting and losing every gamble she participates in. She drinks and she keeps a stock of her favorite sake in her drawers. The teachers are very, very weird. Some are perverts who openly read porn in front of their students, some came from the military, some has the voice to call every single student's attention within the entire three floors of the school, some encourages their students to run around the campus 209 times, and some have the beauty of a goddess and the temper of the devil."

"…I think you should reconsider your decision to study in this school for next year," Kurama said jokingly with a small smile.

"That's true, I guess."

Kurama's eyes widened. "What?"

Naruto frowned. It wasn't as if he was personally interested with studying in Konoha High and this was proven with the way he often skips his classes. It was just that most of his friends were here and that Tsunade just so happens to be a distant relative from their mother's side. With Tsunade as the principal, Naruto didn't have to worry about being expelled and troubling his brother who was paying for his tuition fee.

His eyes moved past Kurama's shoulder and he gestured towards the direction with his head. His brother turned to look at where he was gesturing.

He opened the door to his classroom, surprising the teacher in the room who he recognized was Iruka, and said, "I'll see you at home later. Are you going to fetch me after classes?"

Kurama shook his head. "I'm going to be late tonight. Call Shukaku. He'd like that."

Naruto laughed. "Alright. Is Chomei coming with him?"

"Probably. And by probably, I mean there's a 99.99% chance of him doing so."

"It is Chomei, after all," Naruto murmured. He looked up again and smiled, waving. "You should probably go now. Your secretary is probably worrying his ass off at work."

Kurama chuckled, nodding. And then he left.

As soon as his brother was out of sight, Naruto closed the door and turned to see Iruka staring at him, the brunet evidently torn between utter bafflement and anger for being interrupted. Behind him, his classmates wore the same expressions though there was a hint of confusion.

Iruka blinked slowly.

"…Naruto?"