Chapter 6
Genma sniffled as he and Shisui-kun watched Naruto-kun dash into the Academy. He was growing up so fast!
“Stop, Genma-san,” Shisui-kun said as if he didn’t have tears streaming down his face. “We have to be brave! Kakashi-san is gonna cry!”
They watched as Naruto-kun greeted his teachers excitedly and introduce himself loudly to the class.
A few moments later they were sobbing on each other from the tree they were watching the ANBU’s kid(because that’s what he was) from.
Naruto-kun was growing up to fast! (The ANBU all resented Hiruzen for applying Naruto into the Academy three years early. They should have waited). Genma didn’t like it. Was this what parents felt like?
“Alright, let’s go,” Kakashi rolled his eyes, though even he stared at Naruto’s class for a moment longer before grabbing them and shunshinning away.
Genma stumbled into Raido as Kakashi shoved him away. Shisui-kun was shoved into Itachi-kun’s hands.
Kakashi-kun stared at them for a moment then shuddered. “Feelings,” he muttered, walking away only to be ambushed by Gai.
“How was Naruto-kun?” Raido asked, amused.
“He was excited,” Genma sniffled. “He just, sprinted away without even a hug!”
“He hugged Kakashi, but not us!” Shisui-kun wailed.
“We all know Kakashi is his favorite,” Raido rolled his eyes, shoving Genma away.
“I think it’s a tie between Satoshi-san and Kakashi-senpai,” Itachi-kun said, unaffected of the sobbing Shisui-kun on his shoulder.
Genma sniffled, rubbing his nose on Raido’s jacket. “And I’m the fun one,” he pouted.
“Go ruin someone else jacket, damn it,” Raido hissed, shoving him away.
“But koi!”
“No.”
*****
Kakashi watched the Academy doors from a tree as a barrage of little menaces ran out, groaning about how the day was so boring.
He smiled as Naruto came out, looking around subduedly though his eyes sharpened on his tree. Those sensor skills were getting scarier every day.
Naruto ran towards the tree and scrambled up it, hanging onto a tree branch and beaming at Kakashi.
It still awed him how Naruto didn’t hesitate to give him that blinding smile.
“Kashi-niichan!” Naruto beamed, struggling up the branch but eventually getting up there. “The Academy is so boring! You and Sato-chan already taught me everything,” Naruto whined.
Kakashi snorted. “Yes, but unfortunately you still have to go through the courses to become an official shinobi.”
Naruto groaned, holding onto the branch, “If you say so, Kashi-niichan,” he grumbled.
Kakashi thanked every deity that Naruto looked up to him and respected and liked everyone of those around him. He didn’t know what they’d do if Naruto was rebellious and wanted to do whatever.
Kakashi grinned, “How was your day?”
Naruto hesitated, “The teacher was acting weird. And a few kids were mean…but maybe it’s cause I’m younger and they don’t like it?”
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the teacher, who was standing outside and talking to some parents. “Weird how?”
Naruto shrugged, “Weird. He was kinda stand-offish and wasn’t really nice. But he was nice? I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry about them. You have us, okay?” Kakashi smiled, placing a hand on Naruto’s head.
The kid beamed at him, “Right!”
Kakashi stood up, “How about we drag Shisui-kun out to spar?”
Naruto lit up, “Yeah!” He dropped down to the ground, making a run for the Uchiha compound. “SHISHI-CHAN!” he yelled.
Kakashi snorted, dropping down from the tree and following at a leisurely pace. It wasn’t like Genma and Raido weren’t chasing after the too energetic kid.
He’d have to talk to them and Anko in watching after what was going on in the Academy.
He smiled threateningly pleasantly at the teacher before trailing after the dust trail. They would fix this quickly and quietly.
*****
Anko twirled the senbon around her fingers, waving them at the teacher who was sweating buckets as he taught. The class was eerily silent except for Naruto-kun’s questions every now and again, expertly ignoring the tension like he’d grown to learn when people came back from missions.
She should’ve gotten some more dango to watch this, it was amazing!
“Sensei,” a kid asked. “What’s the importance of geography?” He complained.
“Because you don’t want to get lost,” Naruto answered. Anko grinned, sending the ball of sunshine and thumbs up.
The supposed Sensei seemed about to chide the kid before glancing at her smile and thinking better of it.
Good. He should be scared of her.
“Right, Uzumaki-kun. The geography of the nations help guide shinobi during their missions, helping complete the mission quickly and efficiently.”
“And what about the politics? It all seems pretty useless to me,” an Inuzuka complained.
“Infiltration missions,” Naruto answered. “You should know the political situation before you go anywhere to complete the mission without getting an enemy.”
Anko sighed. Kakashi-kun, Satoshi-kaichou, and Itachi-kun were infecting Naruto-kun with their smarts.
At least Naruto-kun was cute, she mused, smiling at the ball of sunshine as he beamed at the teacher, who confirmed what he said.
Anko smiled sweetly at the teacher when he glanced at her, waving at him and leaning back in the chair.
The bell rang a little while later and the kids stampeded out of the room, yelling about lunch and what they would play.
“Anko-san,” the teacher said politely after a moment.
“Sensei! Class seemed pretty good, hm?” Anko grinned, jumping down. “Naruto-kun seems pretty smart, maybe he’s a prodigy!” She let out a groan, “Damn, I’m gonna be surrounded by them!” she whined, leaning on him.
“…Yes,” he said, moving away. “But if I may ask, why were you here?”
Anko perked up, “I heard there was some foul play. Hokage-sama put a last minute order for a few people to watch in on the class. You know, we don’t want the teachers encouraging the kids to push one out, right?” She smiled, holding a senbon closer to the sensei’s neck and leaning forward into his space. “We want comradeship to be built here, they’ll be working with each other for the rest of their careers. It wouldn’t be good to ostracized one, ne, sensei.”
“R-right, Anko-san,” he stuttered.
“Great! Nice talk!” She bounced out of the classroom.
That was fun.
*****
“Shisui-kun! A pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?” Megumi-sensei asked, walking towards him with a smile.
“A mission,” he hummed, smiling at her tightly. Naruto-kun had pointed her out as one of the ‘meany ladies that didn’t let me play with the other kids’ and had stuck his tongue out at her from the safety of the tree. “Hokage-sama received some…complaints that there were some teachers treating some students unfairly and discouraging friendships and comradery between the students.”
Said complaints came from Anko and Kakashi staring at Hiruzen till he allowed them to do whatever they wanted.
“Ah,” Megumi-sensei said, paling slightly and glancing at Naruto-kun before hastily glancing back at him. “Such complaints must be taken care of.”
“Of course,” Shisui smiled. He brightened up, waving at the ball of sunshine, “Naruto-kun!”
Naruto looked up and beamed, “Shishi-chan!” He stood up and sprinted towards him, running into Shisui’s leg and beaming up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“He’s on a mission, Uzumaki-kun,” Megumi-sensei said, placing a warning hand on Naruto-kun’s shoulder.
Naruto-kun squirmed under the hand and Shisui moved so that the hand was removed. “Your on a mission here? Why? It’s boring here,” Naruto-kun grumbled.
Shisui snorted, “I’ll tell you all about it later, okay? Or Kakashi-senpai will.”
Naruto-kun nodded, hesitantly letting go of Shisui’s leg under Megumi-sensei’s glare. “Why aren’t you playing with the other kids, sunshine?” Shisui asked, tossing Megumi-sensei a look when she looked like she was about to spit a lie.
Naruto-kun scowled, “I’m not allowed to,” he grumbled.
“Well, that’s stupid,” Shisui said. “Go on, I’ll make sure there aren’t any more stupid rules in place.”
Naruto beamed, “‘kay!” He sprinted off and a few moments later the kids immediately brought him into their ranks. Like it was supposed to. The kid even grabbed a few Uchiha and forcefully included them into the game.
Shisui loved that kid.
He turned and smiled at Megumi-sensei, “I’m sure these rules will be amended, yes?” he said.
“Of course, Shisui-kun. Have a good rest of your day.”
“You as well, Megumi-sensei! Be glad I’m here and not Kakashi-senpai. He’s less forgiving than the people here today,” he waved and walked off, smiling at the happy feelings radiating off of Naruto-kun.
Damn, the kid had the ANBU wrapped around his little fingers.
*****
Genma stood outside, staring the teacher down while playing with a few senbon as he taught the basic katas to the first years.
Naruto-chan, of course, already mastered the basic academic kata since Kakashi drilled it into him after copying it with his sharingan. But he was still drilling it with the rest of his class and perfecting the defensive part of the basic style.
The sensei peered at Naruto-chan and sneered before walking away, obviously not finding anything wrong with his form but wanting to criticize.
This happened a few more times before Naruto-chan fumbled through a defensive stance he and Raido been teaching him. It was fairly new and understandable that he fumbled in it.
“Oh, Uzumaki-kun, what happened? You were doing so well?” the sensei said, sickly sweet voice projecting the mocking she was doing.
She had some nerve doing it in front of him.
“I was just practicing,” Naruto-chan muttered. “It was something new-“
“Just work on what I’m teaching you, okay?”
Naruto-chan frowned, “But I already got the ones you taught,” he huffed, frowning.
The sensei growled, “Yes, but I have not moved in yet. Work on what I’m doing and nothing else or-“
“Or what, sensei?” Genma smiled, pushing off the tree. “I saw Naruto-chan doing the work you’ve had them doing for the past week.” (He still couldn’t believe how Hiruzen had turned a blind eye to the Academy for so long before they forced him to accept what they wanted to do). “Will you give him punishment he doesn’t deserve?”
The sensei startled before frowning, “Genma-san. You are not a teacher here. You have no right to criticize the way I teach.”
“No,” Genma drawled. “But your hounding on Naruto-chan’s smallest mistakes while others are in need more help to continue their shinobi career.”
She bristled “Genma-san, unless you are under official orders to be here, please leave.”
“But I am, Hokage-sama heard of the future shinobi children being mistreated and sent a few shinobi to check it out,” Genma smiled before leaning back on the tree. “But please, continue as if I’m not here. I believe Satoshi-senpai will be here instead of me later, but I’m not very sure. It could be Kakashi.” He smiled as the teacher paled before frowning.
“Whatever,” the teacher scowled. “The kid is just a freak anyway.”
Genma smiled, hopping in front of the teacher and putting a threatening senbon on her throat. “Please, say it again. Though I doubt it will end well more you.”
The teacher sneered, “What are you going to do, kill me? It’s against the law.”
Genma smiled pleasantly, “Me? No. But I know assassins. Please don’t mess with our ward, we are very protective of him.”
The teacher paled. “Whatever,” she murmured, turning around and actually teaching the class.
Genma smiled, putting the senbon in his pocket and the one in his mouth quirking up with the smile.
Fifth one on the watch list.
*****
Kakashi smiled under his mask, leaning against the tree, watching the kids stampede out. Naruto brightened when he caught sight of him, sprinting over and beaming at him. “Heya, Kashi-nii!” he exclaimed.
“Hey, sunshine,” Kakashi hummed, eye smiling. “How was the Academy?” He let Naruto clamber onto his back before heading towards Ichiraku.
“It was weird,” Naruto said. “Shishi-chan, Genma-neechan and even Anko-neechan showed up! All the teachers were being weird and stuff but they were nice! It was super cool but very sushpiciouso.”
Kakashi laughed at the last word. They hadn’t quite gotten suspicious down. But it would come soon. “Is that so? Well, if the teachers act up again, tell us.”
“Now your being weird. Is this some kind of plot? Huh, Kashi-nii?”
Kakashi snorted, “No.” He left it at that and let Naruto clamber down as they were close to Ichiraku. He simply smiled at Naruto’s suspicious look. It wasn’t like the kid would ever find out what they did.
Besides, Naruto was their ward. The ANBU were simply doing their job.