Chapter 10
Naruto was being scrutinized, making her life very much harder. She kept glaring at the ANBU following her around everywhere and had asked Jiraiya to tell them to come inside when they were at home so she didn't have to feel like she had eyes burning into her very soul.
Shisui and she were in her home with Jiraiya doing yet another project together. This project was supposed to be done with a third person, however as there 38 people in her class, one group had to be a group of 2 and to make it easier, the top boy and girl were placed in one group.
They both laid down on their stomachs as they discussed the purpose of each weapon and poison to the best of their abilities. She had to hand it to the boy, despite having no experience he was getting majority of these things right. It was no wonder Itachi had taken to his cousin as a child.
She liked how Shisui was nothing like most of his shinobi clansmen. He laughed, smiled, made jokes and wasn't condescending. He was the exact opposite to Sasuke who was a complete flirt and had a stick up his arse.
Shaking her head she looked back to her assignment. They were currently organising where nerve toxins came from. Shisui said frogs and toads whereas Naruto said snakes. Her argument was that frogs and toads could do no wrong and that snakes were pure evil.
He had given her the stink eye stating she was biased as both her brother and adoptive father held the toad summons, to which she couldn't refute as it was true. In the end they had asked Kakashi who was playing a game of shogi with Jiraiya and he had agreed with Naruto, causing her to stick her tongue at him in the name of her victory.
Shisui had grown on her and ever since Kurama had woken up the pain in her eye had gone, yet she kept the hairstyle as otherwise it would start suspicion.
She had been ecstatic when he had officially woken up a day after the incident with Minato. She understood where he was coming from, she had been hokage and had to make hard decisions. That did not mean she couldn't be moody towards him.
He had literally made her live a life as a known jinchuriki twice now and to top, she couldn't understand the sandaime's logic. No one had been told that Kushina was a jinchuriki besides the absolute necessary people.
It made sense in a way. It was a time of war and he had his duties as hokage to complete- keeping the village safe no matter the cost. However to forsake her was just plain cruel.
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MAY- 13 MONTHS
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Shisui watched as the young blonde threw her shuriken. She had been the only one besides himself that had managed to hit in the target yet by her facial expression she didn't seem happy about it. That confused him, it was like she expected more of herself than what she was able to do.
His new classmate intrigued him, she was a foreigner yet was treated kindly as she should, however he suspected it was due to her family. Then there was her eyes; so bright, expressive and blue. He had never seen a shade of blue like her eyes. He had heard people whisper how it should be made a crime that she hid one of them all the time.
The other thing that intrigued him about her was her cheeks. More specifically, the whisker like birth marks on them. He couldn't look at her and not compare her to either a cat or fox.
Cat because once he had scolded her for passing a message with a senbon to Iruka who had been sitting in the row in front yet it had just missed Shisui's face by a hair. He couldn't stay mad and had ended up apologising to her instead. It reminded him of when he had scolded a cat in the district and he had apologised to the cat straight after.
He liked to compare her to a fox because she was crafty and whenever they took classes outside she took a stance that simply reminded him of a fox.
He had also never seen a child his age as clever as she was, not even he was as smart as the girl was and he had been in the academy a lot longer than she had. He had told himself to not get jealous as she had Jiraiya of the sennin as an adoptive parent and Minato Namikaze as a brother. It was only to be expected she would hold a lot of information.
"She's very talented, Naruto I mean." Spoke the spiky haired brunette beside him, Hayate Gekko. "She's the only female in our year that managed to get close to the target."
He had never seen a child his age as clever as she was, not even he was as smart as the girl was and he had been in the academy a lot longer than she had. He had told himself to not get jealous as she had Jiraiya of the sennin as an adoptive parent and Minato Namikaze as a brother. It was only to be expected she would hold a lot of information.
There was one thing that bothered him. She was an open person yet at first had seemed so reserved from him. However he preferred that to her deep hatred from Mizuki.
Whenever the boy was anywhere near her she would glare and shut out all chances of conversation. He was unsure why she seemed to hate him but something he had learnt was that Naruto had good sensory skills. If she felt someone was bad news, it was best to follow her lead. In fact, many members of the class had adopted this habit and taken to saying very little to the boy- well not completely. They still spoke to him, not completely ignoring him.
Humming Shisui replied, "Well she's being trained outside the academy as well, just like the clan kids in our year. Me included."
"I guess so. I wonder what it's like to be related to Minato and Lord Jiraiya."
Shisui shifted on his feet, unsure how to answer as he had been going over to the blonde's home often to do assignments and had seen the tense air between her and her brother. Lord Jiraiya himself had also been tense as he had regarded his student, yet Shisui chose not to comment as it wasn't his place to do so.
"I'm sure it'd be… lively." It was like that indeed, at least when it was just Naruto and Lord Jiraiya. If she was with Minato she would have a strange tenseness about her. He was sure it had to do with the argument they had had about bijuu the other week yet once again he chose not to comment. He hardly knew her and it would be rude for him to poke his nose where it didn't belong.
Although he had received a summons from the hokage asking for Shisui not to mention the conversation to anyone besides the two blondes and sensei.
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Shisui stood beside his aunt Mikoto as she spoke to her red headed friend, Kushina Uzumaki. The woman seemed very nice, however she was also very loud and energetic. She had the longest and straightest red hair he had ever seen. If he had to compare her to someone it had to be his blonde classmate. She had the same personality and also had bright long hair, just not as long of Kushina's was- plus it was blonde not red.
He had to spend the day with his aunt as his father was working with uncle Fugaku at the UPF. He had been going there and on missions far more often these days, yet the boy chose not to comment on it.
Kushina cooed at his cousin, Itachi, who was in his aunts arms, "He's so cute, Mikoto. I heard you had a boy but I don't know what you named him?" she laid a finger on his cousin and cooed when he followed the movement.
"We named him Itachi. He's 16 months old now." Replied his aunt Mikoto as they all carried on walking. His aunt had just picked him up from the academy and now they were on their way home when the red head had caught sight of them and yelled for them as she waved her hands, a broad smile that showed too many teeth to go with it.
"It's been so long since I've seen you in the village Kushina. How have you been? And how is little Naruto?" at the sound of his classmates name he looked to the two women, unsure how either of them knew the blonde.
"I've been great dattebane! They need my help out on the frontlines now that the war has been announced. And as for Naruto… I'm not too sure 'tebane, I haven't been in the village for a few weeks." She seemed to have a similar verbal tic that the blonde also had as she liked to randomly shout out dattebayo and for the life of him, he couldn't understand what it meant.
"I heard. Is there nothing that can be done about it? Another war especially so soon would make things harder just after we got things back together." They went past the shop aunty usually took him to yet chose not to mention it and further listen to the women's conversation. "And it's a pity about not having seen the girl… I haven't been introduced to her yet so I don't know if she'll be alright with the arrangements…" Aunt Mikoto looked nervous as she spoke which was unusual for the Uchiha matriarch.
"How do you know-" began Shisui yet was interrupted by a loud yell.
"NARUTO!" shisui turned, startled by the sudden shout. Low and behold, Naruto was running away from what seemed to be a crazy purple haired female who was holding as well as throwing kunai at the laughing blonde.
Without thinking he grabbed a hold of the blonde before she passed them, however he hadn't been prepared for her to end up taking him with her wherever she was going.
"Hey, Naruto! What's going on? Who's chasing us and why?" he asked as they continued to run through the village.
"Anko Mitarashi. She's the apprentice of the snake sennin. I insulted him since she insulted ero-tousan and she didn't seem to like the comment." She was laughing as she barely avoided a crate of apples being loaded, the shop owner yelling at them causing Shisui to shout an apology.
Naruto turned and threw a kunai at something which dropped a bucket of sludge on the purple girl, causing her to pause before she shrieked, exclaiming she would kill the blonde for this.
At the threat Naruto laughed at grabbed a hold of Shisui again as she yelled, "We had best get out of her way, 'tebayo! Or she'll skin us!" she laughed again as they made their way through the streets of Konoha.
It surprised him, Naruto seemed to know every nook and cranny about the roads despite having only lived in the village for over a month. In fact, she seemed to know far more than he did and he had lived here since his birth.
She dragged them into an ally and forced them behind the stacked crates. Placing a hand over his mouth she listened out for the loud voice of Miss Mitarashi and heard her speak between breaths, "Hey Hatake! Have you seen that blonde brat?"
"Anko. First there is no need to speak in such an undignified way, you're a kunoichi so act like it. And lest you forget, there are lots of blondes in Konoha. The most common would be the Yamanaka. If you want me to answer your question, detail it." Replied the person she had called Hatake, which he assumed had to be Kakashi.
"Short, loud, shocking long blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker marks and a real pain in people's asses. Seen her around?"
There was a long pause before he heard fabric shuffling, "Not since she was at my place the other day."
"Kakashi." Replied Anko in a monotone voice. "You realise she's a kid right?"
"Not like that you perverted female. She's Minato sensei's sister. She has a habit of making herself home at my place." Snapped Kakashi. Shisui looked at Naruto who seemed to be on the verge of laughing.
"GAH! I don't have time for you!" yelled Anko as she ran off in a fruitless pursuit of the blonde.
"Naruto Namizake. What did you do this time?" asked Kakashi as he looked to the blonde. He saw the Uchiha and questioned who he was.
"I insulted the honour of her lord and saviour, Orochimaru after she insulted ero-tousan. And this is Shsui Uchiha. You know, the one Obito likes to call a brattish pain in his arse." She removed the hand on his mouth as they got up from their crouched positions. "Senapi meet Shisui Uchiha, Shisui meet Kakashi Hatake. If you think the Uchiha clan have no personalities you haven't met Kakashi."
"We already met the other week week during the whole uh argument with Minato." Shisui replied awkwardly. How had she forgotten they had already met? But it made sense as she hasn't been the one to do the introductions as it had been his cousin.
"Brat. Remember there is a hierarchy, Anko and I are your superiors and you will act like a subordinate." Naruto was right, he was worse than his clan, how that was possible alluded him yet chose once again not to comment. Ever since meeting the blonde he had been wanting answers when he knew he wouldn't get any.
Kakashi left not long after having spoken to the blonde that any shinobi would be able to track her, to which she had said that Anko clearly couldn't. They had then gotten into a bet stating that there was no way Naruto could get into the missions room and paint a message without getting caught.
The bet consisted of Naruto owing Kakashi three days of meals if she lost and Kakashi owing her two training sessions with Obito and the catch was he couldn't complain. He had then requested to change the bet to five days to which she had agreed, she was after all asking a lot of the boy apparently.
They had also agreed on Naruto's ANBU detail not counting as they wouldn't see if they hadn't been forced to watch her every move.
Somehow Shisui had no choice but to join them and after getting a bottle of easily removable spray paint, they all made their way to the tower.
Not even six minutes later Naruto came back looking very pleased with herself as she stated what she wrote: 'You need to work on your sensory abilities. A five year old broke in and did some vandalism.' She had clentched a hand over her stomach as she laughed over what she had done causing Shisui to also laugh, however in a far more dignified manner.
However Shisui stopped laughing when he remembered what he had been doing before this mess. More specifically who he had been with.
Naruto apologised and escorted him home so she could explain what had happened and to introduce herself to the matriarch. It was then that Shisui found out that Mikoto was in line to look after Naruto yet he was not told who the rest were.
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With the arrival of a new week came the arrival of the event Naruto had been looking greatly towards. The survival outing that would take place in the forest of death.
Since her arrival she had not gone into the forest and now she got a chance to enter without causing any suspicion. A bonus to being out in nature was that her ANBU weren't allowed anywhere near her. They had to stand guard outside the forest, but it wouldn't be that easy.
Just outside the forest was a river and mountains that had been previously caged off in her time yet that had not been created yet. The river she found out, led to Naka River. The river had a lot of history in Naruto's mind and she also assumed the reason it had been blocked off was either because it made the forest even more dangerous or because following the River would lead to the Uchiha district.
She had been unable to do anything outside of Konoha but that did not mean she couldn't do anything inside her borders. She had met up with Kakashi several times with Obito and they seemed to be able to stand each other's presences for more than an hour before one of them snapped.
In her book that was progress, Sasuke and she couldn't last that long without some form of incentive when they had been their age.
Then there was the matter of getting the hokages attention to peace. That agenda was also going very well. Four days after Kurama woke up she had been contacted by a gama of Mount Myoboku stating that the Ogama sennin knew she was here and that her contract was still in place. This had made things a lot easier as she could send messages to the hokage under the pretence of an unknown gama sennin helping out Konoha. Of course Jiraiya had been questioned however when Lord Fukasaku came and said they could not say who the sage was, the old man had dropped it.
The lord had also managed to get an agreement from the hokage, the ANBU detail would leave Naruto the moment she became a genin, as he wished to personally train her in the gama way, to which he had agreed. Consequently, Jiraiya had mumbled about how his sensei listened to an old toad and not him.
She was bought out of her musings as she stood by her team. Everyone had been placed in groups of three, which was made easier as two students had been pulled out of the academy the previous week, however who was going to lead their team was unknown and they wouldn't find out till they arrived at the outskirts of the forest