A\N: Hello readers. Here are twelve thousand words for you to enjoy. Beta read by Bluepencils12. Thank you, Blue, for your work.

The figure was here, staring, almost faithful in its commitment to haunt Naruto's mind and turn each night into a nightmare. The golden halo of hair, so similar to the boy's, swayed in a non-existent wind, and the smell of rot made Naruto gag. The blond bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. He knew he would not escape it. The deafening peal of laughter rang in his ears like porcelain shattering. It did not mean anything was real. The sudden, intruding caress, as pleasant as sandpaper scratching against his skin, startled him, but he kept his head from jerking back and opened his blue eyes to look at the frustrating presence. He hated being here. He hated the figure. He hated being unable to refuse its touch. Tears rolled down his face when the thing kissed his forehead, its lips searing his flesh like some sort of branding, his heart tearing open. The black tar started to engulf his body in its viscousness, just as the figure began to walk away from him. Naruto sank and awoke.

Sweat drenched covers and bed sheets fought against the spastic movements of the boy for a minute, before he relented, calm settling over his body, his hacked breath evening out, his feverish eyes focusing, the cobwebs of sleep clearing from his addled mind. Another minute passed before two wobbly legs carried the child to his bathroom. Despite the desire burning his chest, he had no time for the letter today. The blond flinched briefly at the snarking picture of his reflexion and fought the urge to smash the mirror. It was a piece of glass, all he would gain was an injury, and after the table last Friday, he wasn't keen on breaking anything else. He would control his emotions. A deep breath later and another minute was enough to perform his ablutions; he was sufficiently late as it was. The blond fought briefly against the temptation of a long shower but decided against it. His sensei had been in general less harsh than the previous ones, and he wasn't going to endanger that state of thing by being late. Not even once.

It was with his usual, eyesore of a jumpsuit that Naruto made his way to the Academy. He tuned out the people. Today was going to be complicated. Now that he knew more, he could act. It did not necessarily mean he would. His grandfather's instructions had been vague at best. The glares washed over him, but he did not feel them. The problem had simply changed. Naruto knew at least two people were trying to establish a friendship with him. He was still not certain he wanted to answer in kind. He knew he would undoubtedly create a storm of sneezes somewhere, but it was troublesome.

Naruto sidestepped absentmindedly the man who regularly tried to trip him. The blond could not understand why the individual still tried. He had been roughed up by ANBU for going a little too far once, yet he still tried. Naruto hesitated for a moment, his train of thoughts derailed. He definitely wanted to hurt the man. He realized he wanted it badly. Imagining the man writhing in pain on the ground was an almost relaxing thought. The glares and the insults, he could put up with. He had put up with it, actually, since forever. But hurting him was another thing entirely. His grandfather had given him the possibility to end a fight, as long as he did not start any. He wondered if that offer extended to insufferable civilians. He knew they would only hold him in a worse light if he were ever to do that. Actually, could his treatment become any worse? The blond emitted a highly frustrated noise. He did not care that much personally, but it would set a precedent and who knew how the situation would evolve. Probably in a spiral, out of his control, which was not good right now. Maybe the ANBU could actually take care of that for him, after reflection. He just had to "fall" for the man's attempt at tripping him. A second was enough to decide that it was definitely too much work. He'd have to be convincing enough to fool ANBU and it was not happening anytime soon. He really had to read about laws, see what was feasible.

Focusing once again on the important question of the day, Naruto resumed his way to the ninja school. Building a friendship seemed to be complicated, but the words of his grandfather kept echoing again and again in the back of his head. "It's worth a lot." Now Naruto did not have a point of comparison, not really. The Hokage was family, in a way. A twisted way maybe, but still, Jijie was Jijie, so Naruto could not pretend to compare what having a friend was to having his grandfather. How much exactly was "a lot", Naruto had no idea. He preferred not to. As a rule of thumbs, if you expected nothing, you could not be disappointed.

The blond boy found himself at the entrance of the massive concrete complex that was the Academy. It looked like a bunker and it was one. The inner layout was confusing, no plan of it existed, at least supposedly, and anyone caught drawing one was immediately sent to T and I.

The sole touch of colour, from the exterior, was the board above the entrance, where shinobi was spelled the traditional way. Endure.

Something stopped Naruto's step, freezing him in place. The red wooden board, with the word etched on it, was another remnant of the Kyuubi's rampage. His mind was mulling the conversation he had with his grandfather, three days before, over and over. "You ever seek help yourself Jijie?"

Blue eyes stared at the board and tried to bore a hole into it. The board had been made by Hashirama Senju's mokuton, and the word carved by Madara Uchiha's katon. Endure.

It was what made a good ninja. The one cardinal virtue, the ability to endure, to never let down, to never give up. The blond looked at the board with intent. Below the kanji for shinobi was etched the maxim of Konoha. There were four symbols of the traditional tongue, spelling Hi no Ishi. The Will of Fire. The belief that people were stronger together. The belief that people were at peace together. Naruto felt an itch at the back of his mind, and his gaze jumped from the symbol for Shinobi to the symbol for Will several times. "Of course Naruto."

Blue eyes widened as the beginning of comprehension, perhaps a chunk of wisdom, graced Naruto. A slow laugh, hoarse, dry, as if rarely practiced, escaped the blond's lips. Endure.

Except nobody had ever said to endure alone. Naruto ceased to laugh and straightened then inhaled deeply, expanding his chest cavity wide. He balled his hands slowly but firmly into fist and he frowned slightly. He strode inside the Academy grounds with a powerful gait. He had nothing to lose. He had something to gain. And it was "worth a lot", apparently.

Despite his late, for him, awakening, the classroom was mostly empty. Out of pure reflex, Naruto immediately walked up the stairs to find his seat at the back. Only once he was seated did he spare a glance at the people already present. The Hyuga heiress. The Aburame heir. The Uchiha. The Yamanaka heiress on the left. A pink haired civilian on the right. He was late but not that late, as those were the only people present. Naruto's eyes focused back on Shino. The Aburame boy was sitting alone, as usual, and Naruto knew he would sit alone for the rest of the day. Too many in the class deemed the silent heir as creepy, and few ever sat next to him. The Aburame boy was actually the target of pretty much the same kind of exclusion Naruto himself suffered. Less extreme certainly, but the same nonetheless. From the other children at least, the teachers never treating the Aburame like they would Naruto. This got Naruto to frown. It was natural for people of all age to sneer at him. But to do the same to the Aburame, heir to a respected clan of Konoha, was weird. All because his body contained insects. Naruto, as far as he was concerned, was more curious as to how it worked than disgusted. If he ever had the occasion, Naruto was sure he would have hundreds of questions for the aloof boy.

Naruto's blue eyes widened. There was no one next to the Aburame. Class was not starting for another fifteen minutes. He could totally seat next to the boy. And then what? Launch a casual conversation? The blond had no idea how to.

He did it with his grandfather. It was easy with his grandfather. But his skin was not crawling with nightmarish sensations when he was with his grandfather. His heart was not beating out of his chest with his grandfather. He was not feeling colder than winter with his grandfather.

Yet if he wanted to ever form a connection, any kind of meaningful connection, with someone, anyone, he would need to surmount those uncomfortable feelings. Naruto smiled bitterly. Should he be forthcoming with them? Shino and Shikamaru were bright, they would understand. Would that be enough to slight them though? How personally would they take it? They were the origin of the unpleasantness Naruto was experiencing. It was not their fault. It was not Naruto's fault either. It was no one's fault truly, if you decided to not accuse the village as a whole, but the two boys could misinterpret, misunderstand.

Before Naruto could reach a conclusion, the classroom filled with more and more students until nearly all seats were occupied. Some people had failed through the years, being held back or sometimes even removed completely from the Academy, thus leaving some holes in the ranks. Chatter invaded the quiet room and soon enough, their teacher arrived.

Naruto's life was rhythmed by the Academy and his class had fallen into a comfortable routine, so when Iruka asked his students to open their book on psychology, the blond boy was not surprised. The class kept on learning about various aspects of clinical psychology and its use in solving negotiations with various stakes. To that was regularly added a mass of condensed material from the previous five years to review, plus the two hours long of either taijutsu, bukijutsu, or shurikenjutsu training that had wormed its way in every morning before the lunch break. The shogi session took place every afternoon. Naruto had no time to be bored, as Iruka was more demanding than any teacher the class had had before had been. Twice a week for three weeks, their professor had dished test after test, mixing every possible subject and requiring precise answers from the students. But the blond took it in stride, as he had always learned things in a way that had ingrained them in his brain. To him, it was simply spewing forth dormant knowledge on demand.

Hours passed quickly and Naruto started to absorb the knowledge given by Iruka, momentarily forgetting about much else. The shurikenjutsu session was a blur as the blond scored better than academic standards, the spawn of the Uchiha clan stealing the spot of the best sniper as always. It was only when the bell rang, signifying the end of the morning, that Naruto once again faced his conundrum.

The students were dispersed in small groups, eating either in the vast refectory or huddled together in the yard. The shouts of younger students echoed, mainly from the field used to play cuju, but also from the obstacle trail, and some simply from simpler games of "it". But Naruto was indifferent to it all. He was indifferent to the chaos of the schoolyard because Shino Aburame was currently having lunch alone and Naruto's mind was screaming at him to take the opportunity.

The blond boy felt as if he was living his nightmare. His legs weighed tons and his feet were glued to the ground. Naruto refused to let his nocturnal fears control his daily life, so the blond pushed on his legs. His left foot rose and fell, and Naruto progressed towards his goal from a few inches. Now he only had to make the right foot follow. If only his damn legs were keener on following his damn orders. None of his endeavors were ever easy, the boy lamented for a second before he willed once again his legs to move. It took him a full minute of hesitant steps to reach the Aburame heir. His breath was shorter than what was probably healthy and it hitched once in his throat once Naruto realized he had the attention of the brown haired boy.

"What might I do for you, Uzumaki-san?"

The blond had to keep himself from flailing his arms around like some sort of windmill as he searched for his breath, found it, and firmly reigned it in. Swallowing what he hoped was the total sum of his nervousness, Naruto finally found his voice.

"Would you have lunch with me?"

Shino had to keep his eyebrows from shooting past his hairline but could not manage to keep his jaw tight in time. Fortunately, he reminded himself his high-collared coat masked his gaping mouth before he also reminded himself he was eating and that his collar was open. The blond boy facing him instantly reddened, having no doubt seen his hanging jaw. Shino remembered the words of his mother and spoke quickly before his classmate could form any kind of wrong opinions.

"It'd be my pleasure Uzumaki-san."

Shino watched as Naruto swallowed hard and sat, settling a bento in front of him. The two boys started eating in silence, one that was comfortable to Shino but apparently not to his lunch companion. The Aburame boy allowed the gear of his, in all humility, brilliant mind, to run and turn at full speed. He lost no time cursing his mother's advice, knowing that to lament how vague it was would be of no help, and quickly went to practical consideration. Naruto was uncomfortable with the silence. Shino wasn't but the blond boy had no way to know. It was the first time Naruto took such an initiative to eat with Shino. In fact, as far as Shino's knowledge went, it was the first time Naruto was eating with anyone. Naruto probably had no idea what to say, if anything had to be said. Shino carefully considered several options before going for the one he decided was his best bet.

"I'm happy to have lunch with you, Uzumaki-san."

It was the truth. Shino saw a small, hesitant smile bloom on the blond's face, and silently thanked the great hive for the lessons on psychology from the Academy and from his clan. No Aburame was talented when it came to interacting with people outside of the clan, the majority of the villagers, ninja or not, thinking them to be insensitive.

"Thank you Aburame-san." The blond interrupted Shino's thoughts. The brown haired boy could see Naruto wanted to say more but was hesitant to do so. The clan heir decided to tread with prudence. He did not know what the blond would take or not as an offense. The fact he was willing to even discuss showed an open disposition Shino was not going to waste. The Aburame answered Naruto with a small smile on his own. His clanmates were not known for smiling, mainly because they all wore some kind of high collared coat, but they were perfectly capable to do so, contrary to popular belief. It was simply reserved to grand occasions.

Shino kept eating and watched as Naruto fidgeted. The blond had something on his mind, evidently, but Shino was not sure how to help his classmate out.

"I…" The blond exclaimed suddenly only to immediately fall silent. His blue eyes were darting nervously left and right. Surreptitiously, Shino lowered his right flat on the table and straightened as he exhaled a deep breath.

The calm he crafted by carefully manipulating his own body-language appeased Naruto and Shino could not help but smile again.

"I'm sorry."

Shino's smiled disappeared. "What for, Uzumaki-san?"

The blond gripped his own hands and squeezed, as his blue eyes lost themselves in his lunch box. After a few seconds, Shino was ready to say something, anything really, to alleviate the stress crushing the Uzumaki, but the blond beat him.

"You've been approaching me for… For a few months now and I..." The boy hesitated, unsure how to formulate his thoughts into words, his eyes searching something past Shino's left shoulder. His hands flailed for a second, this time as if Naruto was grabbing for something flying past him before he pushed them flat on the dinner table. His rebellious hands under control, Naruto took a deep breath."I did not know how to respond to that." The blond continued in a whisper.

Shino waited. He knew the blond was not done. As calmly as he could, the Aburame kept eating, slowly, giving the Uzumaki time to gather himself.

"I'd… I'd really like to be your friend." Naruto blurted suddenly, looking at Shino dead in the eyes, piercing him almost with his azure orbs. The blond boy nervously scratched the back of his head. "If you'd like it of course."

Shino felt the breath he did not know he was holding escape his lungs and his face was split by a large smile. A smile he knew was too large for him, unbecoming of an Aburame. He would reflect on that later. It was definitely not forbidden to smile for a member of his clan, despite the popular beliefs. And right now, it felt terribly right to be smiling.

"Of course Uzumaki-san. And there was no offense."

Shino could see the tension leaving Naruto's body like boiling water leaving the stove. The Aburame had keen eyes and could see the blond was making a conscious effort to suppress the usual uncomfort he would feel whenever subjected to positive attention. Shino, along with Shikamaru, and after consulting his parents, had deduced that it was what made Naruto sick when they congratulated him. Or even when they simply talked to him. Heeding the counsel of their parents, Shino and Shikamaru had decided to continue to offer praise to Naruto when it was reasonable to do so and did so with as little an audience as possible. Yet today, there was a gleam in the blue eyes and a long sigh that Shino identified as just as many signs of relief. And if the tentative smile on the blond boy's lips was any indication, the Uzumaki was quite happy from Shino's answer.

"So Aburame-san..?"

"Yes, Uzumaki-san?"

"This friendship thing… I'm not sure how it works?" There was a discreet shrug of the blond's shoulder to punctuate the questioning statement.

Shino refused to facefault. All the same, he contained the sweatdrop. Those were not things members of the Aburame clan did. It was a matter of pride, and an old rivalry with the Hyuga every child of the Aburame was made familiar with. Shino did take a second to collect himself and wrap his head around what Naruto had just asked, though.

"Well first… How about we use our first name, Naruto? Last names are…" Shino stopped. He would not use this particular word. It was banned from his clan; about that the rumors were true. The Aburame heir eventually found a word he thought apt. "Cumbersome."

The smile on the Uzumaki's lips turned into a sideways grin, that showed a longer than average canine. "Certainly, Shino."

The two young boys ate in a much more comfortable silence, in appearance at least, enjoying their respective food. Time ticked slowly and eventually, chopsticks scrapped at the last remnants of food left in the lunchboxes.

Naruto decided to break the silence, curiosity about his new friend winning over the alien dread he was feeling. The blond was still unsure if he should, if he could, call Shino that. The Aburame boy had confirmed he was looking to be Naruto's friend but the blue-eyed boy could not shake the feeling it was unnatural. The only one he was friend with was his Jijie. He had secretly hoped his uncomfort would disappear but apparently, he would have to fight through it. It was with a trembling spine, a queasy stomach, and a brow marred with a thin layer of sweat that Naruto spoke.

"Say Shino?"

"Yes, Naruto?" The Aburame asked as he gathered his tableware.

"Could you… Tell me a bit about your clan?"

"Of course Naruto." Shino tilted his head pensively as his right hand mechanically zipped the collar of his coat up. "Let's see. We are one of the founding clans of Konoha and each member lives in symbiosis with one or more hive of specially bred kikaichu." The brown haired boy paused for a second. "But you knew that already, right?"

Naruto nodded firmly. "Mmhh… I have been curious for a while about how this symbiosis works," the blond admitted timidly.

Shino could not stop his brow from furrowing and Naruto immediately saw it, because the blue-eyed boy paled slightly and began to scratch the back of his head.

"If it's clan secrets, it's ok to not tell me anything."

Shino shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm just surprised you are so willing to discuss a subject most find… Disturbing."

"The symbiosis?"

"Yes. Many find the practice… Disgusting."

There was a pained look in Naruto's azure orbs but it lasted for a second only before the boy shook his head "no" firmly and looked straight at Shino.

"I don't. I think it's extraordinary, to be honest."

Shino almost started at the claim. The Aburame boy stared at Naruto behind his shades, intently, but could see no sign of deception, no trace of dishonesty. Decidedly, today was a good day to smile.

"I'm glad to hear you see it that way." Shino's smile faltered behind his collar. The fact that Naruto was not disgusted by the kikaichu was great. The reason behind was probably in part terrible. The Aburame cleared the sad thought. It would not do to hold such sentiment, for it would undoubtedly breed pity. Shino was very certain Naruto did not need pity. Cutting himself off from his musing, the boy adjusted his shades and resumed what he had to say. "I'll probably be unable to answer all questions but feel free to ask."

"Mmhhh… I wonder how it works really?" Naruto shot an awkward glance at Shino, clearly unable to pinpoint his question in more precise terms.

"Well, the symbiosis must begin when the human subject is very young. During a process we call merging, a young Aburame becomes host to one hive-"

"How are they selected? The hive I mean."

"The infant often receive a hive born from his parents' hives. It ensures reasonable compatibility."

"I guess you won't tell me where it is in your body?"

"Sorry Naruto, but this information is indeed classified by my clan. Not even the Hokage knows."

Naruto whistled, impressed. It did make sense. If one knew where the hive was located, it would be like painting a target on every single Aburame to ever exist. He was surprised the secret had never leaked out. All it would take was a dead Aburame and a dissection table. Naruto contemplated the thought for a second, decreed it as possible but disturbing and decided not to ask.

"So… What can your kikai do really?"

"First, you should know that the correct term would be ninchu. For ninja insect. There exist several types of insects and kikaichu are only one out of many we breed. So different for different purpose really."

"All birthed by the same queen? Or do you need say, two or three queens to get all the sort of insects available?"

"I regret, that's also something I cannot answer."

Naruto nodded his understanding. "What can you tell me about the various ability of your insects?"

"Some can devour chakra, some can track rather efficiently thanks to pheromones, some can poison people… Nature is pretty inventive. Those are only abilities we encouraged to grow, really."

"You breed insects yourself?"

"Yes. Father started to instruct me on that." Shino could see the ache Naruto suffered momentarily at the mention of a father, but the Aburame boy chose not to comment on that. "It is a really interesting process. It requires a lot of patience but when the insects present the wanted characteristic, it is truly satisfying."

The blond nodded. "I guess. Must be cool." It was said with a longing in the tone that made Shino unsure of what was cool, really, and the Aburame heir decided it was his turn to ask Naruto things before the conversation died in awkward silence.

"You study fuinjutsu yourself, right Naruto?"

The blond was shaken out of his funk and acquiesced. "Yep. My orphan name is Uzumaki and apparently, they were a clan specialized in it. Hokage-sama helps me from time to time. It's quite fun too." Naruto stopped for a second before smiling wryly. "When it is not straight incomprehensible."

"You work with Hokage-sama?" There was certain awe in Shino's voice and Naruto tried as best he could not to fidget.

"Not really?" drawled the blond, dragging the vowels through his teeth. "He sometimes, sometimes, find an hour or so to help me through a particularly tough matrix." Naruto hesitated a second. "He says I have talent," whispered the boy, unsure what was ok to claim or not.

"That's… Rather impressive." Shino commented, keeping the vibrato in his voice as controlled as he could and fighting with all his education to not shout some inane word like awesome.

"Thanks. I guess."

Shino saw Naruto shudder and recognized the telltale signs of the boy's inconfort. The Aburame decided to push. The blond deserved the praise. Even if Shino knew nothing to fuinjutsu, receiving the Hokage's acknowledgment was something people ought to recognize.

"No really. If Hokage-sama says you are good, then you are, undoubtedly."

Silence, for a few seconds, fell on the table.

"Would you introduce me to the discipline, Naruto?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you would consider introducing me to the fundamentals of fuinjutsu? I guess I cannot really share much of experiments with you, as they are part of clan business, but fuinjutsu is an art open to each ninja in the village."

Naruto fidgeted for a while, his eyes darting left and right all along.

"If it's-"

"Why?"

Shino considered the question carefully and answered slowly. "Because I do believe fuinjutsu is something we could share. I believe it could be an enjoyable activity."

Naruto nodded before once again scratching the back of his neck.

"I don't know if I can be a good teacher though."

"I'm quite sure you'll be more than capable."

It was at this moment the bell rang, signifying the obligated return to class for, the boys knew it, the now traditional shogi session. Naruto and Shino both gathered their lunch box, cramming them in their bag, and rushed to the classroom. The refectory was on the other side of the Academy and the hallways were filled to the brim with students of various age. Gaggles of six years old followed their teacher while older boys and girls were deemed big enough to find their way alone. In the schoolyard, the teams of cuju, under the supervision of three instructors, were shelving the ball and the numbered shirts they had used to identify the players. Naruto wondered briefly what it was like to play cuju, before shaking his head and following Shino. Soon the two found themselves in front of the door, when Naruto stopped Shino, a hand firmly on the Aburame's shoulder.

"Shino?"

The brown haired boy turned slowly.

"Yes, Naruto?"

The blond swallowed and his blue eyes started to search the ground for some kind of answer. Shino had to refrain a frown. It was there again. The unease, the shift, the alien sensation that something was not right. Naruto, so used to disdain and scorn as he was, could not, would not believe him.

"Naruto?"

The blue-eyed boy started and his right hand reached his neck, scratching it nervously.

"I- It's just… You are…" The blond flailed for a second. "Supportive?"

Shino nodded once, firmly, and stared at the boy. "I meant what I said Naruto. You are quite capable."

Having said that, the Aburame heir turned, leaving Naruto rooted in place with a shy smile slowly blooming on his lips.

"I do believe you owe me a return match of shogi. We will need a board for that, Naruto, and I'm not bringing it here."

Naruto started and shook like a wet cat, this time grinning rather widely, for him at least. The Aburame did practice humor apparently. Rumors were so wrong. "Yeah sure Shino. I'm coming to get my win again."

Naruto fell face first on his couch, a smile still turning his lips in an upward crescent. The blond groaned when he carelessly impacted one armrest with his knee. He did not swear because, as weary as he was, he was too happy to swear. The pain dulled quickly and the boy sighed contentedly. The day had been exhausting frankly. Even if his inconfort had greatly diminished, it was still there, and Naruto felt really uncomfortable in his clothes. They were damp from perspiration. Groaning once more, the blond derobed and went to his bathroom, sowing various articles of clothing on the ground. There was a relieved sigh when warm water flowed and eased the ache his entire body was plagued with. The boy allowed himself to enjoy the shower longer than what was socially acceptable, and eventually donned a plain white cotton pair of pants and a black shirt with a red swirl on it. Naruto did not pay it any mind. He had stopped doing so. He knew it was the emblem of the Uzumaki clan, who he was not really part of. His grandfather had insisted he could not tell Naruto anything about his parents, and the boy had simply received the name as was the tradition for orphaned infants. All orphan would receive a namesake at random when they reached three. It was then the duty of the clan bearing the name to adopt the child and provide for them. Of course, Naruto, with his strange luck, had inherited a name which belonged to an extinct clan. As such, he was considered pupil of the Hokage. Naruto had stopped asking questions. Whatever the old man knew, he would not tell the boy, so the boy had relented.

Naruto crumbled once again, this time in a more orderly fashion, bottom first, on the couch. He was feeling better but he was tired. He had absolutely no desire to cook anything. With a quick mental review, he realized Kufuka had prepared him something. It was "cool week", as Naruto dubbed it within the secret confine of his mind. During "cool week", he did not need to cook for himself. Only during Sunday. He always cooked for himself on Sunday anyway.

Lazily, the blue-eyed boy rose from his dismembered position on the sofa to a stand and walked in a manner reminiscent of a Nara's gait, until he reached his fridge. This was definitely the height of modern comfort. A fridge powered by electricity. A shame the electrical installation did not cover the whole flat. Only his kitchen living-room was equipped with the fairy. The insulated door opened with the suction noise of joints separating from their resting surface and Naruto scanned the inside quickly. Boxes, for the first half of the week. The blond smiled and took one labeled "dinner".

"Thanks, Kufuka-san."

He did not know if the ANBU was here. After his… Moment at the hospital, the Hokage had revealed the woman was way more than his caretaker. She was also his silent guardian. She was the one who dispatched many unpleasant people over the years and scarred many others enough that the result was pretty much the same.

When Naruto had asked about the man tripping him regularly on the way to the Academy, his grandfather had answered in a sigh that it wasn't an offense deserving of ANBU level punishment. Naruto did not want to know what was ANBU level punishment, apparently.

Returning to his dinner, Naruto considered the content of the box and opted for cold food. He would heat it just enough that it was not freezing.

A few minutes later, the blond was seated in front of a lukewarm plate of rice, various vegetables, cold chicken, and some mayonnaise. Because the day had been trying and mayonnaise was, after ramen, the best comfort food he knew of. Especially with cold chicken.

Naruto enjoyed his meal slowly, his mouth chewing on the food and his mind on the day's events. As his jaw activated rhythmically, a smile split his face, as surely as the sun would rise eastward. He could not stop it and actually had to stop eating to avoid spilling food. The smile turned to an ear-to-ear grin and his eyes closed. Naruto spread his arms and stretched with a grunt of pleasure while a chuckle escaped his lips. Soon, he was laughing, heartily.

He had made a friend today. Or at least, he was on a good path. It was huge. His grandfather was right; if the elation Naruto was feeling was anything to go by, friends were worth a lot.

It took a while before Naruto could resume his dinner but the blond eventually consumed all the food and washed the tablewares quickly with an expert hand. His stomach full and in a mood brighter than he ever remembered being in, Naruto lay on his couch with his old, worn out favorite book. Tonight, he would read his favorite story. He knew it by heart. It was a story he read often when he was down. As a matter of fact, he generally read this particular book when he was down. But tonight, morale was high and he wanted to enjoy his favorite tale under a different light. Opening the "Tales of the Kingdoms of Guangbai and Mohuhei" near the end, he immediately found the chapter he was looking for. In fact, the page was so marked, the book opened more often than not on this very page. It was the mysterious power of overused books: they knew you and they knew what you were looking for.

Blue eyes immediately focused on the many words laid on the paper, waiting to be read. Naruto unconsciously smiled. Yes, he liked this story. It was simple really and not that original. Simply the tale of how a young squire saves the abducted princess from the clutches of the enemies. It was a little more complex than that of course, as the blond was not one to enjoy a simple damsel rescue story. First, the princess is obviously smart, because it's thanks to her ploy that the young squire, ever the observant one, reaches her before the myrmidons can carry her to the dungeon of their master. Second, the squire is obviously smart too, as he is the one noticing the princess's ploy. Third, the princess and the squire end up kicking ass and taking name together, back to back.

Naruto did not know if he would ever fight back to back with Shino but it was a pleasant feeling to imagine. The blond's smile faltered and the book left his hands, falling on the floor. He was getting ahead of himself. It had taken him everything to speak to Shino during lunch. Would it be just as hard tomorrow? Certainly, the Aburame heir had been nothing but pleasant, but Naruto did not know how to read people. What was the value of the simple exchange they had? People were only friendly when Naruto wore a mask of some sort. What did Shino see, to be friendly with him when he was himself?

The blond firmly shook his head. His grandfather had told him it would take time. He had told him he had to trust. Shino had been pleasant. Shino had meant what he said. Shino had joked. Shino never joked, with anyone.

Shino trusted him a little. It was between them. Naruto had seen what was hidden behind the high collared coat.

As he realized that, terror gripped at Naruto's heart, as the blond felt how badly he wanted that to happen again. He thought he wanted power. He needed power so that the civilian would cower in fear. He needed power so that he would become the Hokage everyone would obey and respect, too afraid to dare much else. He needed power so that the anger ever boiling somewhere in his heart would leave. But at this instant, it all seemed so meaningless, simply because someone had been willing to look at him, talk to him, and Naruto had not needed his usual disguise.

Someone who was not his grandfather was willing to see the blond for himself and share things with him, and Naruto wanted that to happen again. He wanted it very much, much more than any kind of power. The blond loved his grandfather, of course. But to know that the old man was not the only one who accepted to see him without a henge masking his features was a new experience. And maybe his anger had been assuaged a little. The knot of tension holding the blond's shoulders came undone and Naruto sobbed silent tears of relief as a grin graced his face.

Tuesdays were a drag. The week as a whole was a drag but Tuesdays were especially terrible. Why? Shikamaru did not know exactly why and it was partly the reason Tuesdays were so troublesome. But his dislike for all that is Tuesday had nothing to do with the present situation. Apart from the fact that said situation is happening on a Tuesday.

This Tuesday had started like any other, with his mother shaking him awake and threatening to throw him by his window if he did not get a move on. That was rather usual, as his mother disliked all that is lazy. How the woman married into the Nara of all the clans in Konoha, Shikamaru had no idea. Maybe his father was the womanizer he pretended to be. The pineapple haired pre-teen discarded the thought as soon as he had it. His father was too lazy to be a womanizer. So after his usual wake up call, there had been breakfast, then a shower, then a quick peck on his forehead, because for all her overwhelming distaste of lazy, Shikamaru's mother did love her family, and then the Academy. In a word, troublesome. But not much more than usual. Not much less either, really. It was just a Tuesday.

Then, things had spiraled out of control. Shikamaru prided himself on being observant. He had seen, just yesterday, how Shino and Naruto shared lunch. His laziness had prevented him to think much of it. He had constated as well that the two boys had an engaging discussion during their shogi session, the tone more than cordial, friendly some would say. His laziness had kept him from reacting.

Shikamaru had thought nothing much would happen today, but apparently, Naruto Uzumaki had decided otherwise.

"Could you repeat that?" The Nara asked, his right pinky scratching his right ear.

"I, um, was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with Shino and me?" The Uzumaki answered while scratching the back of his head.

Hands and what to do with them were so troublesome really. Especially when one was surprised or embarrassed; it was the worst.

Shikamaru hesitated a split second. Enough time for his, in all humility, formidable brain, to work through the question, its consequences were he to accept, the fact he himself had pushed towards Naruto, the fact refusing would probably demolish a year worth of troublesome efforts.

"Troublesome. Choji is my friend. Can he come too?"

Appearance absolutely had to be maintained. And Choji was too shy for his own good, and he needed more friends than just Shikamaru. Hell, Shikamaru needed more friends than just Choji, even if it was troublesome. The questioning answer took Naruto by surprised and he grinned weakly and scratched the back of his head furiously. The blond had apparently not envisioned the possibility of Choji joining them.

"Are you… uh sure?"

Shikamaru knew what was behind the question. He knew how most people glared at the blond. It had even been a problem for Shikamaru. The pineapple haired boy nodded. He did not want to think about the problem, and he knew full well Choji would not become one.

"Yeah. Choji is kinda shy but he is cool."

"Oh, okay then."

Shikamaru motioned Choji with a smile and the four boys made their way to the refectory where they chose a small table. Shikamaru sat next to his Akimichi friend and across Naruto. There would come a time to have a game of musical chairs, but it was the first meeting. The Nara reminded himself of the words of his father. Take it slow. He nearly missed Naruto taking a deep breath and straightening himself.

"So… I'm sorry, Nara-san."

Shikamaru could not keep his eyes from widening as he stared at Naruto. His Nara alarm was blaring. Things he deemed too troublesome to care about would be raised and Shikamaru would need to provide an answer. Given the pained look painted on Naruto's face, the blond did see the subject as important, and it was Shikamaru's responsibility to not screw up.

"It's Shikamaru, Naruto. And what for?" asked the Nara with a voice as soothing as possible while eying Shino discreetly. The Aburame nodded imperceptibly but said nothing.

"You've been friendly for months now and I did not know how to… Properly interpret that." The blond piercing azure eyes rose from the table to Shikamaru's own brown orbs. "I want to befriend you… Shikamaru-san." The blond stopped, apparently finished, before his hand shot to his neck. "Oh, and… And you too, Akimichi-san, of course. If you wish too of course."

"Shikamaru, Naruto. And yeah of course. What about you Choji?" answered Shikamaru while turning to face his friend, who was silently nibbling on some chips. Choji never nibbled on anything edible. Choji shoveled food down his mouth.

The rotund Akimichi started as the pineapple-haired Nara called out to him and answered in a quiet voice. "Ah yes, that'd be cool. Yeah." The auburn haired boy gave a small, sincere smile to the table. "And it's Choji for you two."

Shino simply nodded while Naruto smiled brightly as the breath he was holding escaped him. Shikamaru grinned sideways. A year's worth of troublesome efforts saved. Now onto the really, really troublesome part.

"So Naruto, when do you think you could introduce me to the fundamentals of fuinjutsu?" asked Shino suddenly.

Shikamaru did his best to telepathically send praise to the Aburame heir and smiled. The silent ones were always full of surprise. And the Nara suddenly felt better at occasionally losing to Naruto at shogi. Nara weren't supposed to lose at shogi, not against a non Nara. But Aburame weren't really supposed to open a conversation either. If the blond knew fuinjutsu, then he definitely had brains, and it was acceptable to lose to him once in a while. Shikamaru already knew that Naruto was bright of course. It was just reassuring.

"Well, I'm mostly free on Thursday. But I know you have clan training so I-"

"No, Thursday seems good."

"How much do you know about fuinjutsu, Naruto?" The Nara asked, taking his chance in the lull of the conversation.

"Um, a bit. Hokage-sama says I do well."

Shikamaru blew a low whistle. "You must be impressive if Hokage-sama says that."

"Not really?" The blond scratched his head. "It's not like I can really compare my work with anyone." Shikamaru looked as Naruto cast his eyes downward and muttered. "I still don't know why I chose that…"

"Fuinjutsu is your optional?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief. The last part of the blond's sentence had been muted but the Nara had heard enough.

Optionals were really troublesome things students had to do for the Academy. They started three years before graduation and had to present something big enough to impress the jury to pass. It was where many civilian students failed. Clan children worked with their clan jutsu but civilians had to find something special. Teachers helped of course and many a student did not take too seriously before it was too late, but still. Choosing fuinjutsu as the optional was pretty much unheard of. The stuff was way too complicated.

Naruto nodded. Shino sighed. Choji ceased to eat his chips altogether. Shikamaru did what he did best.

"Troublesome."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, kind of." The blond smiled, a bit willfully. "I like it though."

The pineapple haired boy said nothing. There was a story behind it, but he would not ask. Not today.

"What's your Shino? Your optional, I mean."

"I work on a project with my insect. I hope to obtain a breed with particular abilities. I won't say much more but I do believe it will be a good showing."

"What about you Shikamaru?"

The boy smiled as Naruto called him by his name without apparent second thoughts. "Oh well, clan jutsu. I'm trying to get the Shadow Bind jutsu to work. Troublesome, I tell you."

"Why?"

"'cause it's a lot of chakra control and complicated stuff I can't really tell you about. But yeah chakra control. Advanced chakra control."

"How do you practice for that?"

Shikamaru noted the face Naruto currently had. The blond's interest was peaked.

"I walk up and down trees. I try to at least. It's exhausting. You don't learn it 'till later apparently, 'cause it requires a good chunk of stamina we're not supposed to have at our age…" Shikamaru explanation died on his lips as he saw Naruto uncharacteristically vibrate with excitement.

"Could you show me Shikamaru?"

"Errr… As I said, it's really tiring."

"Not a problem. I have good chakra reserves."

How to get Naruto out of his shell, mention chakra control exercises. Shikamaru carefully filled that in a part of his brain.

"Well, yeah I could. How about right after school?"

Naruto nodded excitedly with a grin. "Sure, sure!" The blond turned towards Choji. "And you Choji, what do you do for your optional?"

Shikamaru's friend started once again at being addressed. "Oh hum… Clan jutsu also. We call it the Partial Expansion jutsu. It makes parts of our body grow in mass and size. Can't be much more specific."

"Ah yeah, of course. Don't worry. Sounds cool though." Naruto's excitement dimmed and the grin the blond sported faltered. "So it'll be just me sharing stuff?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and his Nara alarm blared again. That was troublesome. "Don't worry too much Naruto. Even if you share fuinjutsu with us, it doesn't mean we will get it. It is complicated after all." The brown haired Nara made a show of thinking for a few seconds, "You are right though. I promised you the tree climbing techniques but maybe Shino can throw something in too? And you also Choji, if you're interested? Then we can all learn together."

Naruto's smiled returned, bright, warm, comfortable. Shikamaru thanked the lessons on psychology and took a moment to observe the blond's wide grin. It was a shame the boy rarely smiled.

"That is a sound idea, Shikamaru-san and I do agree to it."

The Nara boy sighed. Aburame were troublesome. "Forget the san, Shino. Please. It really is troublesome."

"As you wish. I'll think about an interesting technique I can share with you all."

Shikamaru discretely elbowed Choji and the rotund boy flailed. "Ah yes! Of course, I'm in. I'll ask my father. He'll have an idea." The Akimichi heir started mumbling under his breath, searching for ideas. "Maybe some grappling moves… They are not really that secret…"

Shikamaru smiled. "We have a deal then, right?"

Naruto nodded happily, Shino nodded seriously, and Chiji kept mumbling. Shikamaru sighed. He had kick-started something and he knew it was going to be troublesome.

Probably worth it, though.

It was the end of the day and all four boys were in the schoolyard, in front of a tree. Shikamaru was right next to the trunk, and Shino, Choji, and Naruto were a few steps behind.

"So, you see the leaf floating exercise?" The Nara asked.

Three heads nodded in assent.

"Well, the goal is to send chakra to the sole of your feet and adhere to the trunk. Too much and you destroy the trunk and too little and you don't stick to it. I'd say it requires little chakra overall but it's a pain to get chakra to your feet, really."

Three heads nodded once again.

"Well… Get to work?" said the Nara with a weird twist to his mouth.

Two boys out of three sweatdropped.

"Let us try that then." offered Shino who neared the tree first.

Naruto stared at the tree, then at the Nara. Shikamaru had not given a demonstration. The blond smiled discreetly. It was probably too much of a pain in the ass for the brown haired boy. He was lazy after all. The pineapple haired boy certainly thought he worked hard enough during clan days.

The blond gathered his thoughts. He had to send chakra to his feet. The boy looked down at the shoes he was wearing then back at the tree. Naruto shrugged. Questions would come after the first step. The blue-eyed boy closed said eyes and focused on the well of chakra swirling in the gate of wonder. As he usually did, the boy took a moment to admire the energy coursing through his body before he attempted to reign it in. The flow was messy. It was certainly smoother than when he had begun the Academy. But nowadays, even his personalized leaf exercise would only take him so far. The flow was tamer than it had ever been yet it was still raging and difficult to properly direct. Maybe forcing it to flood his feet in a certain fashion was indeed a good idea. Along with the fact that he would be able to stick to any and all kind of surface was the added benefit of a peculiar chakra control exercise. Naruto only hoped it would be efficient.

His chakra jumped into his coils, readily taking heed of this particular command. That had never been complicated. It was once the life energy was coursing through his chakra system that he had trouble to direct it. As long as it was in his arms, that was fine. His legs, his head, his torso were next level of annoying. When Naruto tried to push the chakra to his feet, he understood quickly it would be troublesome.

A sneeze returned Naruto to reality and the blond watched as Shikamaru scratched the underside of his nose.

"Well, good job Shino, you'll have it in no time."

Naruto looked on one side of the tree and saw the Aburame heir taking four shaky steps on the trunk before somersaulting back on the ground.

"Low chakra reserves often equates good control and due to the symbiosis, people of my clan have rather reduced reserves," Shino explained, downplaying the mild success.

"Still impressive," complimented Choji.

Naruto gave Shino a small smile. "Yeah, good job." The blond offered before plunging back to his meditative state. He had work to do.

"Say, Jijie?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

It was Wednesday evening and Naruto had taken refuge in the oh so comfortable couch of the Hokage office. He had hung out all day with his three classmates, from sitting beside them during class, to eating in their company, to practicing once again the tree climbing exercise at the end of the afternoon. The boy was now quite tired and was watching his grandfather. The old man was standing in front of his window, painting the view while humming an old tune. The blond shot a glance at the canvas. He did not know much about painting but he thought his grandfather really was doing a good job and he knew painting relaxed the old man.

Hiruzen firmly brushed the setting sun on the canvas, adding orange to the hues of purple and red. Orange was a delicate color to paint. Too much and it was an eyesore, too little and the final result would lack punch. He knew Naruto wanted to talk. Naruto rarely came to his office nowadays if it was not to talk about something. He knew what had taken place earlier during the week. He was the Hokage after all. But he had no clues about what was going on in the head of his twelve years old surrogate grandson. He could tell the boy was nervous, anxious even yet he wasn't exactly sure why. Recent events were as many hints and Hiruzen had a probably good idea but there was nothing like the boy himself confirming it. People needed to talk. Especially when they were emotionally impaired like Naruto was.

"I think you were right."

Hiruzen perked up. The boy had initiated the conversation. A good sign, the old man was sure of it. "About what, Naruto?"

The blond hesitated a little. "Shino and Shikamaru," the boy eventually said.

"How so?"

"I made friend with them. With Choji too!" There was a burst of energy in the boy's voice. An enthusiasm that Hiruzen had despaired to ever hear again. Something he had not heard for way too long.

"It is a good thing, Naruto. Everybody needs friends."

Silence fell in the fortified room and only the brush depositing paint on the canvas was heard for a time. It was a strangled sob that tore Hiruzen from his art. The Hokage whirled around in a flurry of robes and hurried towards the silently crying blond.

"What is wrong, Naruto?"

"I… It's so strange. I thought you were the only one, Jijie."

The Hokage ran his hand into the mess of blond locks and spikes, and slowly, the cries were assuaged.

"I thought you were the only one. Who looked at me normally. I thought…" The blond sniffed and smiled sadly. "Did you know I wanted power? Do you know why I try at the Academy?"

Hiruzen froze for less than a second but refused to tense and tightened his hug on the blond boy.

"Tell me, my boy." The Hokage asked soothingly, using his grandfatherly voice to the maximum of its charm.

"I thought if I got powerful, then no one would glare at me like they do," began the boy in a hushed whisper. "That if I became strong, maybe took the hat from you, no one would dare." The whisper became hot and venomous but it suddenly disappeared in a twisted, unsure smile. "But now I get three people who look at me like you do. I thought you were the only one Jijie. And then I find three more. And now I don't know anymore Jijie."

The Hokage combed the blond hair in silence for several minutes straight, calming the trembling boy, lulling him into the state right before sleep.

"What don't you know?"

"What I want really," was answered in a drowsy voice.

"Why?"

"'Cause… It feels weird… To have people… Looking at me normally." The blond mumbled, exhausted. "I don't want it… To stop."

Hiruzen nodded and smiled. "I'm sure it won't Naruto. I'm sure it won't,' said the aged Kage.

But the boy was asleep already and probably did not hear him.

Naruto felt weird. Not the usual weird he felt when in the presence of Shino. The clearly uncomfortable sensations had slowly died down since two weeks ago. The crawl under his flesh, the cold sweat, the block of ice in his stomach, all of that had… Not exactly disappeared but it was definitely better. To be exact, they were at war with exactly antagonistic feelings: a cool warmth in his chest, relaxed shoulders, and a pleasant chill on his skin. It was similar to what he felt in the presence of his grandfather. A calm, a certitude that all was right. Naruto hoped he would come to feel only that in the presence of his friends. Still, he felt weird.

A special kind of weird he had already felt two weeks ago and then a week ago. Naruto felt weird because today was Thursday and he was teaching Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji the basics of fuinjutsu. It felt weird to not be alone on Thursday. Thursdays were his to do what he pleased with them. Thursdays were the days he could unwind. Thursday was Taco-day, or something. Choji's words, not Naruto's.

So not only had his routine been disturbed but it had been disturbed in a way he could never have imagined. He was the center of attention of three people. It was not the hateful notice of the villagers. It was not the admiration at something he did right. It was the attention students had for a teacher. And it was a very special kind of attention. The three boys were impressed by his knowledge but it was not the first time Naruto demonstrated knowledge. The difference was that, in most cases, the other three had also possessed the same knowledge already. So, by demonstrating knowledge of a subject they had no idea about and that, in addition, they pictured as overly tough to learn, Naruto had sparked their admiration.

Yet there was something more to it. The three heirs had the same spark in their eyes people had when talking to a powerful shinobi. They had the slight bow to their head the villagers had in the presence of the Hokage. Naruto had their respect.

And that was weird, the blond decided. It was so weird that the blue-eyed boy could not even tell if it fell good or bad. He was too weirded out at the moment to choose.

Naruto shook his head slightly and focused on his three students. He supposed the three boys were that, in effect. The blond focused on the clan heirs and took stock of them. The Nara had his lazy attitude up for appearance's sake, the Akimichi was eating some chips, and the Aburame was silent. They were gathered around a small bundle of twigs and leaves.

"Ok, before we begin, any questions on last week material?"

All three boys shook their head. Naruto nodded and flashed them a smile.

"Good. Then Choji, could you repeat what fuinjutsu is about? In your own words, please."

Fuinjutsu was a lot about memory and it was a good test.

"Sealing is about storing matter or chakra on a receptacle."

Naruto nodded and kept his smile on but sighed internally. The blond would never pretend he had a good grasp of fuinjutsu. It felt weird to teach the three, after all. But he also felt that Choji's understanding was too limited. Fuinjutsu was much more than the Akimichi's rather basic definition.

"What about you Shikamaru?"

The Nara shot Naruto a dead glance and scratched his right ear with his pinky. "Troublesome. I'd say sealing is an alternative way to our classical hand seals to manipulate matter and chakra."

The blond nodded in return. Shikamaru's version was different. The vision was different, still, it was not encompassing all that fuinjutsu could be in Naruto's eyes.

"What would you say, Shino?"

The Aburame allowed himself a few seconds to think his answer through. "I'm afraid I do not see what you want me to see Naruto. I'll humor you and say that I see sealing much like opening and closing a lock on a potential force."

Naruto smiled. "Well, you three aren't wrong. But you see only one face of the coin." The blond scratched the back of his next. "You're probably right though. There's probably no good definition of fuinjutsu," said the whiskered boy in an apologetic tone. "But never limit yourself to too narrow a view!" He suddenly exclaimed with a rarely seen passion, his right clenched tightly in a fist and shaking it with defiance. A fire that only surfaced when speaking about sealing. It took a moment for Naruto to gather his bearing and again, his hand scratched his neck.

"Right. So. The two fundamentals principles?" asked the blond, a little bashful after his outburst.

"All that has been done can be undone. Everything can be done, given the price is paid," answered Shino solemnly.

Naruto nodded with a frown, his features frozen in a mask of utter seriousness. "Exactly. Never draw a seal hastily, the price could be way more than you expect."

All three boys nodded. The perspective to die because it was what the seal demanded to activate was something Naruto had drilled in them carefully. For the entirety of their very first session, in truth.

"Now, what is a prong?"

"They are the central elements of the seal, right?" Choji began, dredging up memories from last week. "You need at least three for a seal to work. They… Do stuff?"

The blond Uzumaki smiled at the Akimichi. "I think you can use Shikamaru's analogy with our hand seals, Choji. Each prong is a hand seal and they bend matter and chakra the same way head seals do."

"So I was right in my definition? Closer than Choji I mean?" interjected the Nara suddenly.

"Yes and no. Choji is pretty close too when he said that sealing is about storing things into other things. Shino is close too when he says you close and open seals. It's the very fundamentals of a storage scroll, right?"

The Nara nodded and muttered a "troublesome" under his breath.

"I really don't get how it can be all that." Choji wondered, scratching the swirl on his left cheek. "I mean, no I get it, but I can't see where it leads. A storage scroll is a storage scroll."

Naruto shot a sideways grin at the portly boy and chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so at first. So now, let me ask you a question." Blue eyes stared at brown and Naruto's grin enlarged. "Can you store fire, Choji?"

The Akimichi pursed his lips. "No?"

"Wrong."

Choji's eyebrows shot high under his spiky mane of light brown, auburn hair. "Really?"

"Yep. No one does it because you have katon jutsu to light a campfire and combat application is a bit complicated but you can store fire. You just need to design the prongs the right way."

And having said that, Naruto pulled a small scroll and unfurled it, revealing a circle, three black points forming a triangle of sort, and the kanji for Fire in the middle of everything. With a sonorous "release" from Naruto, a flame leaped out of the seal and shot at the pile of twigs and dried leaves in between Naruto and the three heirs.

"That's… Cool."

"Troublesome."

"Impressive."

Naruto smiled. "Now let's go back to how to design a seal."

Iruka watched and listened as the Uzumaki boy taught three clan heirs the fundamentals of fuinjutsu.

The demon, not the Uzumaki, Iruka corrected himself with a sneer. The brown haired chunin sighed and his grimace faded. He did not know what to believe anymore. He had observed the boy since the beginning of the year. He had tried his best to confound the beast, to reveal Uzumaki was nothing but a danger. A demon ambushed and ready to pounce. He had found nothing but a blond, blue-eyed, shy, socially awkward, clever boy. Iruka tried once again to contort his face into an angry sneer but failed.

Either the boy was a boy and was in effect the warden of the beast, or the boy and the beast were one and the same. Believing the latter would be simply spitting on the memory of the Fourth Hokage. Believing the former would make Iruka one horrible human being.

One could argue that it was the demon trapped inside the boy that influenced him and made him learn fuinjutsu, only for the blond teen to open the cage. That would not explain why it would take the pain to make friends and explain the sealing art to them. Some would say for appearance's sake of course. But at this point, it was simply paranoia only the worst conspiracy theorist displayed. Such reasoning was based on nothing but senseless fear. The boy had never attacked anyone, only defended himself. He had never shown any kind of suspect tendency. And again, Iruka knew barely anything about fuinjutsu, only what was required to know as a teacher. Could he trust in the seal designed by the Yondaime to keep the demon at bay yet conveniently chose to believe it wasn't strong enough to keep the boy from being influenced?

The cognitive dissonance was too much for the scarred man. He wanted someone to blame. He wanted something to bear the brunt of the fault for the death of his parents. The Uzumaki was such an easy victim to accuse of all wrongs ever committed. And it was treason of the beliefs of Konoha. It was stepping on the Yondaime's wish to respect the boy as a hero. It was making Naruto a pariah and a stranger in the city of the Will of Fire. Because Iruka, and so many others, were too cowardly to let go of the people they had lost, too cowardly to let the dead rest in peace, they decided a lone child would endure their sorrow. Their fear. And then their hatred.

Iruka reported his attention to the group of four boys and was once again impressed by the prowess the blond boy of the lot demonstrated in fuinjutsu. To think Naruto had been bright enough to learn almost alone, with only the right push, every once in a while, by the Hokage. For a second, Iruka imagined what the boy would be capable of if he had a teacher. Shame dug a deep, uncomfortable void from his chest to his stomach and the chunin looked away. Correction. If Iruka had done what was expected of him, if Iruka had done his job properly, then Iruka would know what Naruto was capable of.

The chunin turned heels and left the schoolyard. He had a class to teach. He felt a bitter taste invade his mouth at the thought. He was going to attend to children who did not put half the efforts in their work a certain blond student did. Iruka Umino decided he needed some answers about himself.

Hopefully, he would find them in a bottle of sake or two.

"How is he?"

"Fine. As fine as can be in his situation." A pause. "You could see him, you know."

"Oh, so now I can see him? I thought I was supposed to wait until he was a graduated genin."

"You know-"

"No sorry." A deep breath. "I have myself to blame just as much as you."

"Seeing him would definitely alleviate that."

"Yeah." A snort, laced with derision. "Hello, kid. I should have been here. I should have been here but I chose to follow orders I wasn't forced to heed. I'm a coward but please forgive me."

"You are too harsh on yourself. You're a soldier, it is normal to follow orders."

"Even when it betrays the beliefs you were raised into? No, let's stop making excuses. We were both cowardly and afraid. We let sorrow dominate our choices when it should have been love. And now we're left with regrets."

"It is not too late you know? He wants company. He needs company-"

"Company we should have been here to provide. Company he deserved by rights of birth and burden."

A sigh, heavy with remorses. "I promised him answers you know. And I promised you that you'd be the one to give them to him."

"I'll tell him. As soon as he is a genin. It won't change much now, the time is near."

Another sigh, this time of lassitude. "Shall we discuss the rest?"

"We shall. The traitor is on the move. The problem is, he is bizarrely sloppy about it. I know he never held me in high regard but I cannot believe he would be so arrogant. I'm still the best spy in the elemental nations."

"What are you certain of?"

"He has his own village. It's more a collection of hideouts but the result is the same: he is enrolling peasants, orphans, slaves, anything goes, and trains them as shinobi."

"Little more than cannon fodder."

"Some are dangerous, mostly due to his experiments. But yeah, the rest is cannon fodder."

"He cannot believe he will achieve anything alone."

"He does not. He is in contact with our west and northwest."

"Will the Rock move?"

"I cannot say. If the Fence-Sitter decides Grass and Waterfall are worth some blood, then yes. They are still reeling from the blow we dealt to them. They don't have the capacity to project too much force but I cannot tell what the old crook is thinking."

"No one does. What about Sand?"

"They are much more susceptible to move. Given the state of their economy and their strained relationship with their foolish daimyo, they could be tempted to get River in their lap. And given that they are not occupied with national defense, they can project a good chunk of their military."

"That would anger their daimyo terribly."

"If they fail. If Sand, Rock and the traitor attack us on three different fronts, they could succeed. If River tips in their zone of influence, then he would probably slap them on the wrist and enjoy the rice and the tea, while Sand retrieves the policing contracts."

"I will use the Scroll of Alliance to wipe my bottom the next time I go to the toilet."

"Might as well."

"Is there nothing we can do?"

"Apart from giving them River? I fear not."

"We could negotiate a bunch of important contracts with them."

A deep breath. "Maybe. But would that be enough or just fan their greed? I can't say."

"What about Grass and Waterfall?"

"I'm confident Waterfall will stand by us. They don't have fond memories of Rock's occupation troops and we were welcomed like bloody heroes when we ousted the bastards. Waterfall will be with us if only to be against Rock."

"I see. And Grass?"

"Grass supports us because we recognize their independence. Rock wants them as part of their national territory. The independentist sentiment is strong as of now, but there is a growing proportion of the population supporting the idea of annexation. I suspect a black op of Rock is cultivating that idea since a while now, with various propaganda operations, some more overt than others. Could not get anyone to spill their guts but the sheer bullheadedness betrays them just as much as a straight confession."

"I'd like to believe we are just as bullheaded."

"True, but we are not founding any black ops of this kind in Grass… You keep Root on a leash right?"

"Of course. Now, what happens if push comes to shove?"

"A civil war and Rock projecting some forces under the pretense of peacekeeping maybe? Or a civil war and Rock black ops swarming everywhere to ensure the outcome."

"Let's pray it does not come to that." A sigh. "Cloud?"

"They enjoy Mist's current turmoil to claim some islands to their immediate south and they are happy terrorizing Frost, as usual. I'd say we don't have to fear anything from them yet."

"At least we have that going for us. Anything else?"

"Apart from the fact that all this is way too easy to see? No, nothing."

"It could be reverse psychology? He was good at that. And whoever you are, an army requires a lot of resources. You cannot levy a substantial amount of troops and keep everyone in the dark about it."

"Yeah, could be. But my guts tell me there is more… Do you have any results from the heuristic team?"

"Unfortunately not. And honestly, I doubt they'll find anything. I don't want to doubt you, but your theory is far fetched."

"That it is. But I can't shake the feeling I'm missing something."

Silence, for a few seconds. "Where are you headed?"

"I'll keep watching Rice."

"Take care of yourself. And be there for his graduation."

"Of course, sensei."

A\N: I hope you enjoyed. Naruto is changing. The world is not waiting for him. Don't forget to leave a review or send a PM, it's always cool to know how the readers feel.

P.S: Grammarly is drunk and for some reason, I have weird stuff happening with the line breaks. Not my fault.