[FFML] [Naruto][AU] People Lie

[Nugar]

				People Lie


	

	Everyone in the class turned to look as the door slid open.  Even
Shikamaru, who had gotten pretty good at impromptu naps over the past
several years, hadn't had time to fade out for his morning 'me time'.

	Naruto Uzumaki walked in, almost an hour late.

	"Naruto!  You're…" Iruka trailed off.  "Late," he finished lamely.

	Naruto paused on the way to his desk, visibly struggling for a moment
before offering up a weak smile and an insincere 'sorry'.

	He looked like hell.  Leaves in his hair, dark circles under his
eyes, dirt on his clothes, and dried blood here and there.  He sat in
his seat with none of his usual energy and propped his head up in his
hands.

	It was far from the first time he'd ever been late to class.  There
had been days where he'd never shown up at all.  But it was the first
time he'd shown up to class looking like someone had systematically
beaten the crap out of him.  Usually he was, if not stylish, at least
clean and well groomed.  No one could ever really be considered
stylish wearing outlandish orange pants and a white t-shirt, often
with an orange jacket thrown over it.

	"Ah, I assume you have a good reason for being late?" Iruka hazarded.
 Naruto was great at making up unusual excuses, usually just to get a
laugh from the class and a thrown bit of chalk from Iruka or Mizuki.
Today, whatever Naruto said had happened, Iruka was prepared to
believe him.

	Naruto seemed slightly taken aback by the question, like it hadn't
occurred to him.  "Huh?" he said cleverly.

	Iruka walked closer, real concern creeping into his voice.  "Naruto?
Are you alright?  I asked if you had a good reason for being late."

	Naruto considered it quietly, his eyes wandering away from Iruka's
like he felt guilty about something.  Finally, he sighed.

	"No.  No, I don't have a good reason."

	Iruka wasn't sure, but it sounded like that depressed him.

	Several of his classmates looked at him in concern, just as shocked
by that as Iruka.

	"Well, uh, okay.  We were discussing the techniques for coded
messages, Naruto.  If you don't understand, be sure and ask me after
class, okay?"

	Naruto nodded tiredly, then, over the course of the next thirty
minutes, quietly faded into a haze.


	o/~


	Days passed, as they usually do.  Today was a Tuesday, which meant a
lecture day.  Two hours of lectures in the morning, two hours of ninja
equipment, lunch, then another three hours of lecture, followed by an
hour of stealth.

	Hinata didn't like Tuesdays.

	Tuesdays were kind of sad, because Naruto didn't seem to do very good
on Tuesdays, or really, any lecture day.  All that energy, all that
drive that he showed in everything else he did, just disappeared.
Sometimes there'd be little flashes, funny comments Naruto would make.

	But they were rare.  Getting rarer.  Since the day he'd shown up
late, looking tired and injured, Naruto hadn't been himself.  He
didn't joke like he used to, didn't play pranks like he used to, and
after school, every time Hinata had followed him, he'd gone out to a
training ground and beaten himself senseless against the target poles.
 Naruto trained pretty often, but never like that.

	Today, he hadn't even laughed with the rest of the class when Komiko
got her wires tangled and her kunai toss pulled a snarl of wire and
kunai halfway across the hall.  Though, he had at least looked pretty
alert when it came to his turn, and Hinata secretly cheered when he'd
managed to wrap the wire attached to the handle of his kunai around
the wooden beam and thunked it securely into the target on just the
third try.  He hadn't eaten lunch, apparently because he didn't have
any, and Hinata was tempted to offer him some of hers, but he'd sat
off by himself like he didn't want to talk to anyone and she'd been
afraid to approach him.  And now, now he was asleep.  And Iruka, who'd
been pretty considerate about Naruto for the most part, had lost
patience in the middle of his lecture on the uses of chakra absorbing
ink.

	So he threw an eraser at him, bouncing it with the accuracy of long
practice off the boy's head.

	Naruto, who had been well and truly asleep, jerked awake with a
snort, much to the laughter of the class.  "Huh?  Wazzat?"

	"So glad you could join us, Naruto," Iruka said irritatedly.  "I
asked you a question."

	Naruto blinked sleepily and rubbed his eyes, looking around.  "Sorry,
I didn't hear it.  Could you, uh, repeat the question?"

	More snickers came from here and there.

	"I asked you what the character on the board was, Naruto."

	Naruto squinted at the board and scratched himself.  "Ah, looks like a tora."

	Iruka nodded, surprised.  Maybe Naruto had paid a little attention.
But he still shouldn't be sleeping in class, no matter how tired he
was, so Iruka decided to ask something a little more difficult.

	"So, what's it used for?"

	"Adding a fire element to a seal," he replied, yawning behind a hand.
 Abruptly he sat bolt upright and looked around, surprise on his face.

	Iruka looked at him like he'd grown a second head.  For that matter,
so did Sakura, the only other person there who'd known that, and that
was because she'd read ahead in their textbook.  Hinata just stared.

	"Uh, yeah," Naruto added lamely.

	Giving him a look, Iruka nodded.  "Yes, that's right, Naruto.  It is
a fire element character, something you might add to an explosive note
if you want flame in addition to concussion."  Iruka paused.  "See me
after school, Naruto."

	"Aww, man," Naruto complained, much to the amusement of the class.


	o/~


	"Yo, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled as the class dispersed, stealth
training with Mizuki and Iruka over for the day.  "I'm kinda busy, so
could you just yell at me here so I can get going?  I got plans."

	"Just what kind of plans?"

	"I got a bucket of permanent dye and a shop keeper who really has it
com-err, nothing?" Naruto said with an embarrassed chuckle.

	Iruka raised one eyebrow.  "Well, it'll have to wait.  I want to show
you something."

	"Aww, man, school is OVER, Iruka-sensei.  I haven't done anything to
deserve detention."  He paused.  "Today."

	"Just come with me, Naruto."

	They went back into the school, to the small office Iruka shared with
Mizuki and another chunin instructor.  Unlocking a drawer with a small
key, Iruka pulled out a thick notebook, his grade notebook, then gave
Naruto a warning look when he saw the boy's eyes widen.  "This isn't
where I usually keep it, and even if you do manage to find it, if you
touch it, I will personally break both of your arms."

	"I'm shocked!  Simply shocked that you don't trust me, Iruka-sensei!
I would never dream of cheating!" Naruto proclaimed, all wounded
dignity.

	"I'm serious, Naruto, I will break your arms in three places and
cover you in itching powder."

	"I'll be good," he replied meekly.  "I really only thought that Kiba
needed to be held back a year, anyway."

	Iruka's stern expression relaxed.  "Now, before I open this, who is
the worst student in class?"

	"I'm sorry, alright?  It's just your lessons are BORING.  How can you
expect me to pay attention when you just drone on and on..."  Seeing
the look on his teacher's face, Naruto trailed off.

	Iruka looked at him for a moment, then opened the book with a ribbon
bookmark.  Finding Naruto's name, he held it up so the kid could see
and tapped it with his finger.  "Do you see these scores, Naruto?"

	"I was...," Naruto paused, thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"What about it?"

	Iruka blinked.  "Naruto, your grades are all over the place.  Yeah,
there are some bad scores, but some of them are really good."

	He shrugged again.  "I study when things interest me."

	Iruka paused, thinking.  "Yes, that may well be true.  I know you
like taijutsu better than history.  But, your grades really are all
over the place.  I'd expect your taijutsu to be always better than
your knowledge of seals.  Instead, six months ago, you scored near the
top of the class on seals."

	Naruto looked like he'd bitten into something sour.  "How was I
supposed to know that everyone in the class was going to suck on that
test?"

	"And then your grades dropped to the very bottom of the class.  Way
below what I know you're capable of."

	"How do you know what I'm capable of?"

	Iruka nodded.  "That's it, I don't.  But I have a feeling that you
do.  And I think you're lying to me."

	Abruptly, Naruto's face blossomed into a grin.  "Iruka-sensei, why
would I lie to you?"

	"I don't know.  At first I didn't know what to think.  Maybe you're a
plant from another village?"

	"Sensei, you must be confused," he said, patting his teacher on the
shoulder.  "I'm people, not a plant."

	Iruka closed his eyes in irritation.  "Yeah, I know you're not a
plant."  He paused.  "Or from another village.  But I wish you'd be
honest with me.  You're not the worst student in class.  You could
even be one of the best.  But you're deliberately not trying, and,"
Iruka's voice rose, "you're only hurting yourself!"  Iruka grabbed his
shirt in both hands.  "Can't you see?  You're eleven years old!
Academy students have to graduate by thirteen, and you've only got two
more years to learn the things you HAVE to know!  Maybe you have a
reason to not try, I don't know, but you say you want to be a shinobi!
 You can't do that without graduating the academy!  And at the rate
you're going, you're going to fail!"

	Naruto's stomach growled and he gave an embarrassed chuckle,
scratching the back of his head.  "Sorry, Iruka-sensei."

	But he didn't say what he was sorry for.

	Iruka stared at him, then sighed.  "Come on, Naruto.  I'll buy you dinner."

	Naruto brightened.  "Really?  Thanks!"

	"Under one condition.  You have to try."

	Then, for one moment, Iruka swore he saw the real Naruto, looking
cold and serious.

	"I am trying, Iruka-sensei.  I get it wrong sometimes, but I am trying."

		
	o/~


	Once, when Naruto was younger, he made a mistake.  He trusted someone.

	That someone was talking to a pretty little pink haired girl that
Naruto wanted to be friends with.  So Naruto had talked to the both
for a while.  Then the girl's mother had shown up and taken her home.
Disappointed, the man had talked to Naruto for a while.  Then he'd
taken Naruto home.

	It was that night before an ANBU realized he was missing.  He
searched for the boy for a while.  Then he alerted other ANBU, and
they searched for the boy.  Then the Hokage was informed, and lots of
people searched for the boy.

	This went on over about a week.

	Then the boy staggered out of the forest in front of a traveling
couple, crying, covered in blood, and was turned over to ANBU and the
doctors.

	Though he was crying, when asked what had happened, his voice didn't
waver.  He gave clear, concise details.  Then the doctors gave him
something that put him into a nightmare filled sleep that lasted two
days.  He woke up screaming.

	There was a time of jumbled images and voices, with people talking to
him, at him, and around him.  It was all very confusing.

	Then they had carried him to a big building and asked him to look at
a man in a cell.  It was someone he'd trusted.  He told them so.

	They all looked really mad and mean, and he'd started to get upset,
but the Hokage had hugged him, told him he was very brave, and turned
to a big man dressed all in black wearing a funny cloth over his head.

	Naruto could still remember exactly what the old man had said.

	"Ibiki, make sure he regrets it."

	Naruto had asked some questions, as they were leading him away, and
at some length, as they were exiting the building, he'd understood.
They were going to hurt the man he'd trusted.

	Naruto wanted to watch.

	Everyone, who'd been all smiles and jokes at that point, though
Naruto could tell they didn't really mean it, got real quiet and mad.

	Naruto had apologized for making them mad, and they'd assured him
that they weren't mad at him.

	So, if they weren't mad at him, Naruto wanted to know if he could
stay and watch.  The Hokage had tried to talk him out of it.  Someone
else liked the idea.  They argued.  Naruto argued.  Naruto insisted.

	And, at some length, he'd been introduced to the scary looking man
with the black rag on his head.

	Ibiki.

	Ibiki was big and scary looking with marks on his face.

	Ibiki had tried to convince him he really didn't want to see what was
going to happen.  It was going to be scary and gross.

	Naruto didn't mind that.  He'd done scary and gross things before.
Recently.  And it wouldn't be happening to him.

	Ibiki had said it would be loud.

	Naruto had insisted he wouldn't mind, of course.  He really did want to see.

	And Ibiki had agreed.  And smiled.

	A lot of people left looking mad at Ibiki.  Some left looking sick.

	Ibiki gave Naruto a stool in the corner.  He didn't look mad, or
sick.  He looked pleased.

	Naruto decided he liked Ibiki, even though he looked scary.

	The man in the cell didn't like Ibiki at all.

	
	o/~


	Naruto decided he liked Iruka.  The ramen he'd bought him for dinner
was just about the best thing ever.

	"So, Naruto, you've never talked about it, but what is your goal?
Why do you want to be a shinobi?"

	Naruto shrugged.  "I dunno.  Just seems like a good idea."

	"Liar," Iruka said without hesitation, then realized Naruto was
pulling his chain.

	Naruto grinned.  "There's something I want to do.  But I won't tell
just anyone."

	"Come on, Naruto.  What is it with you?  I've finally decided that
you just don't trust anyone, and that's why you're always lying."

	He slurped more ramen and waved to the owner.  Ichiraku ramen.  This
stuff was pretty damned good.  Not very close to his apartment, but
worth the walk.

	"Why don't you trust anyone?" Iruka pressed.

	Naruto stopped for a second, looked at him, looked away.  "People
lie," he said after a moment.

	After a little while, he looked back.  Iruka was staring at him with
a sad look on his face.  It made Naruto uncomfortable.  He looked away
again.

	"Yes, people do lie," Iruka said finally.  "You can't trust everyone."

	Naruto snorted.

	"No!" Iruka said, grabbing Naruto's arm.  "You can't trust everyone.
But you have to trust someone."

	Naruto looked at the hand on his arm, but Iruka didn't remove it.

	"I'm serious, Naruto.  Don't you trust your friends?"

	"I don't have any friends."

	Iruka blinked, and finally released his arm.  "But, what about your
classmates?"

	Naruto snorted in contempt.  And then he noticed Iruka was giving him
that look again.

	That sad look, like he was seeing something Naruto didn't.  Naruto
had only ever seen one person look like that before.

	"Stop."

	"Stop what?"

	"Stop looking at me like that.  The Hokage looks like that sometimes,
and I can't stand it."

	Iruka nodded slowly.  "I suppose he would look at you like that,
because he knows."

	Naruto looked angry for a moment.  "Knows what?  He never says what
he means, just stands there and gives me that damned look.  What?!
What does he know that you know that I don't know?"

	"How important friends are."

	Naruto looked like he'd been slapped.

	"Ibiki said that," he whispered.  Then he got up, politely thanked
Iruka and the old man behind the counter for the meal, and got the
hell out of there.


	o/~


	When Naruto first met Ibiki, they spent the whole day together.
Naruto asked questions, Ibiki provided answers, and the man in the
cell got very nervous.  Then Ibiki did a few things, and the man
screamed for a while.  Ibiki watched Naruto more than he paid
attention to the man.

	Naruto's attention was on everything.

	When Naruto's stomach growled, Ibiki took him out to a nearby
restaurant and bought him dinner.  They both ate well, and the
waitress praised Naruto's appetite, told him he was cute but 'too
serious' and asked some questions.  Naruto answered at first, but then
Ibiki told him he shouldn't tell people some things, that he liked
this restaurant, and the waitress would be scared by what had been
done to the man.

	Naruto paused, thought about it for a bit, then asked what she would
think about what had been done to him.

	Ibiki told him that if she knew that, she'd cry and probably not sleep well.

	Naruto agreed that he didn't want to make her cry, since she was so
nice, and he wouldn't tell her.

	Ibiki told him that was the right thing to do, that it was usually
best not to tell people anything more than they needed to know, and
asked if he was tired of watching.

	Naruto shook his head.

	So they went back to the building with the cell with the man in it.
Around midnight, Ibiki draped his coat around Naruto and carried him
to a couch in his office.

	The man in the cell didn't get any sleep that night.

	Naruto had the best night's sleep ever.


	o/~

	For nearly a month, Naruto didn't sleep much.  At first he'd tried,
laying down, prepared to sleep, then tossing and turning for a few
hours before giving up and reading scrolls and books for most of the
night.  He took to training, hard physical training all throughout the
Konoha training grounds as a way of exhausting himself, but that just
meant he was extra tired while he lay in bed awake.

	The thing was, he had the answer, now.  Ibiki-san hadn't given it to
him.  The Hokage had mentioned it.  And Iruka had come right out and
told him.

	But it still didn't make any damned sense.

	Yeah, okay, having skilled team members supporting you meant you
could take on more powerful enemies and win.  He could see that.  But
what would it matter if they were friends or not?  Shinobi were tools.
 If Naruto was told to work with someone to complete a job, he would
damned well give it everything he had.

	But friends?  No one wanted to be friends with Naruto.  They hadn't
ever.  Ibiki was the first person to ever look at him with approval.
There were a couple other adults who seemed to like him and treated
him like an adult.  Naruto understood that sort of behavior.  None of
them were friends, but they made some great role models, something the
Hokage had explained once.

	But friends?  Among people his own age?  They were immature.  They
were irrational, for crying out loud.  They did things that made no
damned sense whatsoever.  Most of the girls in class fawned over that
Uchiha, when he clearly did not like them, and made complete fools of
themselves.  Most of the boys either spent their time in pointless
pissing contests, or absorbed in weird little obsessions of their own.

	Only the Uchiha, Sasuke, made any sort of sense at all to Naruto, but
he was such a showoff it kind of irritated him.  What kind of idiot
demonstrates his skills to their fullest and draws attention to
himself?

	Naruto might, just might, could handle being friends with some of the
students, except for one thing.

	They made lousy friends.  He'd overheard girls spreading lies and
rumors about their supposed 'friends' behind their backs.  The boys
would follow some obscure schedule of their own, best friends one day,
bitter enemies the next.

	Who in the hell would want people like that at his back?

	Yet, people he respected told him it was important.  So it probably
was.  He just didn't understand it.  None of the books he'd read on it
had yielded anything useful.  Apparently, this was yet another thing
he couldn't learn by himself by reading about it.

	What a pain in the ass.

	After some thought, and being sorely tempted to go ask Ibiki, though
afraid of what the man might say after the disastrous confrontation
last time, he concluded that he didn't understand people yet.  He knew
how to tell when they lied, he knew how to read the signals they gave
off when in distress, and how to predict their actions, but, going
over his lessons in his head, he concluded that nothing applied,
because now he was trying to deal with people in their everyday lives.

	So, if he had the answer and it didn't make any sense, he clearly
needed to learn more about the problem.

	He needed to gather intel.


o/~


	Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to fend off the
onrushing headache as he stared at the embarrassed looking boy giving
him a pleading look.

	The irate looking chunin kunoichi holding a kunai gave him an
expectant one.  "So you're the one who gave him the homework
assignment of watching me bathe?" she asked, clearly skeptical, but
also clearly willing to gut the party responsible, as soon as she
figured out who it was.

	Pinching his nose wasn't working.   Iruka sighed.  Naruto hadn't been
the same since their little chat over ramen, though his grades had
improved, marginally, and he'd started clowning around in class again,
but Iruka, who watched him a lot more closely now, could tell his
heart wasn't in it.

	And now this.  At least the kid was showing some initiative, albeit
of the perverted kind.  Iruka had to admit, he had good taste.  The
kunoichi was stacked.

	"Come on, all you have to admit is that you never gave him any such
assignment and I can get on with carving him into cutlets."

	Ah, well, time to save the kid's hide.

	"No,  it wasn't my idea for Naruto to watch you bathe."

	The kunoichi smirked and turned towards Naruto, who, Iruka was
somewhat alarmed to note, had murder in his eyes for an instant.  But
no matter.

	"The assignment was to practice following a ninja throughout their
daily routine," Iruka continued smoothly, not giving either a chance
to interrupt.  "He was supposed to pick a fresh genin, someone with a
non combat specialty, someone that a student like him would have a
good chance of observing without being seen.  Not a chunin."

	For a moment, the chunin looked crestfallen, then turned back to
Iruka in anger.  Iruka held up his hands placatingly, noticing as he
did so the look of relief, and something else on Naruto's face.

	 "I suppose I should have been more specific about who he followed
and allowing private time.  I'll make a male to male rule next time.
I'm training shinobi, not peepers, I swear!"

	She glared at him.  "Well you can't prove it by me.  The little
bastard is lucky I didn't just kill him first and ask questions
later."

	"Naruto…" Iruka began.

	"I wasn't trying to see her naked, I just wanted to catch any
conversations she had in the bathhouse!  People talk to each other all
the time, and I didn't want to miss anything."

	"But why did you pick a chunin of all people?"  This, Iruka was
genuinely curious about.

	"Cause I thought I could."

	Ah.  Apparently, he did have some pride in his skills, for all that
he carefully avoided seeming competent in class.

	Iruka gave an embarrassed chuckle of his own to the woman.  "I'm
really sorry, Naruto is one of my best students and I've encouraged
him to challenge himself, but I had no idea he would do something like
this."

	The chunin shook her head for a moment, then shrugged.  "Well, okay,
brat, you're off the hook for now.  But if you perv on me again, I'm
gonna cut your balls off, okay?"  Seeing Naruto's frantic nod, she
laughed quietly, then leaned in close to Iruka.  "The really
embarrassing thing is, I almost didn't catch him.  You're going to
need to keep an eye on this one."

	Dumbfounded, Iruka managed to murmur something appropriate, and the
young woman left, putting a distinct sway to her walk.   He and Naruto
watched in surprise.

	Finally, Naruto turned to him.

	Iruka raised an eyebrow.

	"Okay, that one, I didn't see coming," he admitted.		

	Iruka stared for a few more moments.  Finally, he said, "A chunin?"

	"She barely paid any attention to her surroundings, and people treat
her different.  I was curious."  He frowned.  "Apparently, girls'
situational awareness increase when they're in the bath.  Strange."

	Iruka laughed.  "No, Naruto, not strange, once you understand why."

	Naruto frowned deeper, with a look of such concentration on his face
Iruka wondered if this really was the same troublemaking student he'd
dealt with for the past two years.

	"Then what is the reason?"

	Iruka opened his mouth… then shut it again, a twinkle in his eye.
This was a student he wouldn't mind teaching.  "Well," he drawled,
"there are a lot of reasons, but they all boil down to one main
principle."   He paused for a bit, working out what he was going to
say in his head.

	"Well?" Naruto asked intently.

	"Ah, well, the basic idea is that some men like to spy on women
whenever they're naked.  So women have learned to be more watchful
during those times."

	Naruto nodded slowly.  "That explains it," he said slowly.

	"Ah, but does it?" Iruka replied.

	"…No, not completely."  He nodded again, more firmly.  "I see your point."

	"There's also the privacy issue, no one likes to be spied on in their
private moments," he added.

	"But this is a ninja village," Naruto protested suddenly.  "We're
watched all the time."

	Iruka smiled gently, started to pat the kid on the shoulder, then
thought better of it.  "Naruto, that just makes us value the privacy
we have all the more."

	"So privacy is that important."

	"Yes, it is.  Like the way you play the fool in class, so that the
other students won't notice the real you."  He paused, considering.
"You're probably the most private person I know."

	Naruto took a moment to digest that, but Iruka pressed on.

	"So have you thought any more about friends?"

	His expression hardened.  "Yes.  But I still don't understand it.  A
friend is more than an ally, right?  Someone who you can trust and
rely on, who you have a close relationship with.  But I'm not blind or
deaf.  I see these people around me who claim to be friends, then turn
around and fight with each other, or spread lies about each other in
secret.  What the hell?"

	Poor kid, Iruka thought.  What happened that broke him inside?  This
time he did put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, ignoring the almost
imperceptible flinch it brought.  "Well, not everyone who claims to be
a friend is.  You probably know that better than most.  But some are,
and just because two people argue or hurt each other doesn't mean they
don't care about each other.  And when you find someone who does
become a true friend, you'll understand what I mean."

	Naruto shrugged.  "So, in order to understand it, I have to
experience it."  He sighed.  "And apparently, people say one thing,
and honestly believe it," he said ironically, "but they do something
else.  Is a little consistency too damned much to ask?"

	Iruka winced, then chuckled.  "Yes, Naruto.  When you're dealing with
people, it really is."

	
	o/~

	
	Another two weeks passed.  Naruto's class performance remained the
same, getting quite a bit of frustration out of Iruka.  He spoke with
him several times after school, and Naruto had dropped all pretense of
not being smart as hell around Iruka, but when he was in class, it was
snores, goofy comments, and pranking that seemed mischievous to
everyone but Iruka, who was really beginning to understand just how
afraid of people Naruto was.

	He brought it up to Mizuki, his fellow teacher for the group.  At
first Mizuki didn't want to believe him, but a quiet word with Naruto
about some one on one advanced techniques had tempted the boy into a
secret late night class with he and Mizuki.  After seeing Naruto
unleash some of his best on Iruka, Mizuki had to admit that his
reputation was a complete fake, though he scoffed at the notion that
Naruto was still holding back.  And he still didn't offer any useful
advice on how to get Naruto to try in class.

	So, one day, he decided to take it up the chain.

	All the way to the top.

	Naruto had mentioned talking to the Hokage before, which didn't
really surprise Iruka.  He'd never lived in any other village, but
he'd heard stories, and he understood just how incredible it was that
the Sandaime seemed to take a deep and personal interest in every
person in the village.  Keeping a closer eye on Naruto, given the
boy's secrets and hidden abilities, was something he would do.

	So he made an appointment.  It only took two days before he found
himself in the Hokage's office exchanging brief pleasantries.

	"So I understand that you have some concerns about Naruto Uzumaki,"
the Hokage said after the preamble.  "I know he has quite the
reputation as the trickster, is he making trouble again?"

	Iruka shook his head.  "I'm not here to complain about Naruto,
Hokage-sama.  I'm actually quite concerned about him.  He's very
bright, and, despite his grades, seems to be well ahead of most of the
rest of the class.  I actually don't know how smart he is, because he
refuses to show it, though he doesn't fake being stupid with me
anymore.  I know he could be one of the best students in the class, if
he'd just try, but no matter what I say, he won't."  Iruka took a
moment to calm himself down, his voice was rising, and he did not want
to shout at the Hokage, no matter how frustrated he was.

	Sarutobi nodded, tapping his fingers thoughtfully.  "I see.  It's
encouraging to meet a teacher who sees past the façade that Naruto has
created, and who doesn't blame him for it.  As I'm sure you know,
there are plenty in the village who bear animosity towards the boy due
to what he contains.  Why do you think he puts up such a front?"

"From things he's said and my own observations, I think he's holding
back so that his classmates will underestimate him, and he's put an
incredible amount of work into it.  And it's working.  I've asked a
few of his classmates what they think of him, and the general opinion
is that he's funny sometimes, but not very bright, and he'll never
amount to much.  Just from one real conversation with him, I can tell
that he's serious to a fault and smarter that most, if not all, of his
classmates.  Just maintaining his attitude of a clown would take a
focus very few people could ever keep up for that length of time."
Iruka shrugged helplessly.  "It would be a very valuable skill if he
used it against an enemy village, but these are his peers!  These are
the people who should be his friends, yet he treats them like an enemy
he's preparing to fight."

The Hokage nodded.  "Yes, that's it, exactly.  Though, from what I
have seen of Naruto myself, I would say 'fight' is too soft a word.
Naruto is preparing himself to destroy all his enemies."

	Iruka paled.  "But, does that mean that the Kyubi…"

	Sarutobi shook his head swiftly.  "No, you can rest assured on that.
The seal holds fine, and the beast sleeps within him.  No, what we're
dealing with here is a demon of our own making."  His eyes looked sad.

	"But, I don't understand, Hokage-sama," Iruka protested.  "I can see
that someone must have hurt him in the past, you don't get like that
with a healthy childhood, but to call him a demon-"

	He waved a hand placatingly.  "True, Iruka, the boy is not a demon.
Naruto is actually very moral, and cares about other people more than
he realizes, I think.  But, due to a mistake on our part when he was
young, he was hurt, and hurt badly.  And," he continued, his voice
heavy with regret, "due to my own guilt I may have compounded the
issue by allowing something against my better judgment."

	"Hokage-sama," Iruka replied, then trailed off.

	The Hokage shook his head.  "No, this is not my story to tell.  In a
way, I gave up that right.  But there is a reason Naruto only trusts a
few people."

	Surprise and relief flitted across Iruka's face.  "So he does trust
someone?  That's a huge relief, because the main reason I came here
was because he doesn't seem to have any friends.  Actually, it'd be
more true to say that he doesn't understand what it means to have a
friend.  He's asked several questions about that, and once mentioned
something you had told him."

	"Yes, Naruto doesn't have much of a knack for making friends.  He
doesn't let himself trust easily, but, fortunately, he does have his
supporters in the village.  Not many people know this, but there are a
number of ANBU who are quite fond of the boy."

	Iruka's eyebrows raised.  "ANBU?  But why?"

	He was rewarded by a piercing look from the old man.  "Yes, I'd
intended to tell you, since you do have Naruto's best interests at
heart.  You're a good man, Iruka.  One of Konoha's finest."

	His ears tinged pink at the compliment.

	"After the trauma that happened to him when he was six, Naruto ended
up spending some time at ANBU headquarters by his own insistence.  I
didn't have the heart to tell him no, though I should have.  While he
was there…  Well, I'll let Morino Ibiki tell the rest.  He's the
closest thing to a father Naruto has."

	Iruka's flush of pleasure turned white.

	Morino Ibiki.  Hardly the most well known ninja in Konoha.  But,
among the shinobi, he was known, more so than almost any other ANBU.
He was feared, and justly so, for being the most brutally effective
interrogator and torturer in the country of Fire.

	And Naruto saw him as a father?

	"Morino Ibiki?" Iruka squeaked.  "How in the f-"

	"Not just Ibiki, but several current and former ANBU are as close to
being friends with Naruto as it is possible for them.  In a way, you
could think of them as fond older cousins he doesn't see very often."

	Iruka's mind reeled in shock.  "But Ibiki?  How?  WHY?"

	Sarutobi grimaced.  "Call it a weakness on an old man's part, to not
deny a very brave young man the only thing he insisted he wanted,
despite it being harmful to him.  Ibiki is very fond of him, and takes
his duties as role model very seriously.  Though, I happen to know
that neither has spoken to the other for nearly two months for much
the same reason you are here, Iruka.  Naruto doesn't understand
friends, not just because he's never had one, but because he's never
been one.  And though Ibiki has little patience for people who do not
value their friends, he's not a very good source of advice on
friendship for a young boy."

	Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.  Of course.  That was the answer.

	Sarutobi smiled at the obvious revelation Iruka had just came to.  "I
can see you're well on your way to helping Naruto overcome his
difficulties.  Ibiki-san might be Naruto's father, but you are the
brother he needs."

	"T-thank you, Hokage-sama.  I will think about what you have said,
and I will try my best to help Naruto."

	He nodded, but as Iruka turned to leave, apparently feeling
dismissed, he added, "Ibiki is usually at the ANBU headquarters,
though he can sometimes be found at the Mao Che restaurant nearby.  If
anyone asks, I sent you."

	Iruka bowed.  "Thank you, Hokage-sama."


	o/~


	After some research, this time on the far less aware civilian girls
of the village, Naruto had come to some important conclusions.

	First, people treat beautiful girls differently than normal people.

	At first he didn't pick up on it.  He tended to follow the more
exaggerated girls, the ones everyone said were beautiful.  Curvy,
pretty girls with very characteristic outfits.  His reasoning was,
they seemed to get the most extreme reactions from the people they
interacted with, be it good, or bad.  It was easier to spot trends
with more pronounced reactions.

	Men and boys, almost without exception, treated them better than
anyone else.  They got discounts in stores.  Men bought them things.
Doors were held open for them.  People smiled at them.

	Women were a little harder to figure.  At first, he was ready to
conclude that women were just like men, but there was something… off
about the way they were nice to the pretty girls.  It took him a
little bit to figure it out, but gradually he noticed that, some of
the time, when they were being nice to the pretty girls, they were
actually being mean.  And the pretty girls knew it, too, and they were
nice, but mean, right back.  Sometimes it seemed to get pretty
vicious, but almost never physical, like males.  Which brought him to
another realization.

	Girls lied more about their intentions than he did.

	It was sort of humbling.

	Men and boys, well, that was practically a no brainer in comparison.
Yes, some of the prettier males seemed to get the same kind of
attention from women that they got from men, just look at the last
Uchiha.  But that sort of thing was rare.  Usually, the only advantage
the prettier men had was that women seemed more receptive to their
sexual advances.  And, much like with the women but more so, other men
were pretty vicious to their prettier counterparts.

	That was worth a night's pondering.

	Gradually, a plan formed.  And, with it, a new application of an old
jutsu.  But it needed a little polish.  And there was only one person
he knew that could offer advice on that sort of thing.

	He hadn't seen her in a long time.  He'd better bring an offering.
So, before he stopped by her apartment one night, he bought two boxes
of dango.


	o/~


	The first time Naruto met Anko was the second day after he met
Ibiki-san.  They were returning from a nearby restaurant with bento,
and Ibiki was explaining to Naruto the importance of good nutrition.
How he should try to eat healthy meals at home as often as possible,
but it was okay every now and then, when he was really busy, to buy
meals from vendors for a while if he had the money.  Ibiki had bought
him lunch, of course.

	"Hey, Ibiki, where you taking the shrimp?" a voice called.

	Naruto looked up to see a huge, tall woman with a really fat chest
coming towards them, waving.  She had dark hair and wore dark clothes,
but unlike many of the other people in the building, didn't wear a
funny mask.

	"Hi, Anko," Ibiki replied, just as Naruto interrupted.

	"We're going to the torture cells," he replied very seriously.  "And
I am not a shrimp."

	Ibiki smiled thinly.  "Anko, this is Naruto Uzumaki.  Naruto, this is
Anko Mitarashi."

	"Hello, Mitarashi-san," Naruto said politely.

	Anko raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.  "A little young to be a
spy, ain't he?"  She paused as the name hit her.  "Or is it about, you
know."

	Ibiki smiled, and though Naruto wouldn't know it, she was actually a
little unnerved by that smile.  "Naruto isn't the subject of today's
lesson, he's the student.  He makes a pretty good assistant."

	"…Really."  She squatted to be at eye level with him.  "Well, hello,
Naruto-kun.  You can call me Anko."

	Naruto looked at the big man beside him.  "Ibiki-san?  Is Anko-san
one of the people who can know about what we're doing?"

	Ibiki smiled at him, and even gave him a kind of awkward pat on the
head.  "Yes, Naruto-kun.  Anko would understand.  Do you want to tell
her?"

	Naruto nodded and turned back to the woman.  "We're hurting the man
who hurt me.  Hokage-sama said to make him really regret it.  I think
he regrets it, but I don't think he really regrets it yet, so we have
some more work to do."  He sounded oddly pleased.

	Anko looked a little nonplussed.  "And the sacks?"

	"Ibiki-san bought me a bento!" Naruto proclaimed.

	"Naruto is a growing boy, he needs his nutrition," Ibiki answered to
Anko's silent question.  "And we decided to make it a working lunch."

	At first, Anko looked at the boy with pity.  For the man to have been
turned over to Ibiki's tender mercies, his crimes must have been
horrible indeed.  But Naruto looked back at her with a cool, serious
look terribly out of place on his young face, and Anko realized she
was fighting a smile.  So she didn't fight it, and gave the kid one of
her best feral grins.  He didn't look intimidated.  He smiled back the
way kids will.  She looked up at Ibiki.

	"I think I like this kid."

	Ibiki inclined his head, wordlessly agreeing.

	 "Do you think I could…?" she asked.

	He shrugged.  "Naruto?  Would you mind if Anko came along?"

	Naruto looked at her inscrutably.  "You really want to come along?
Ibiki-san warned that it gets kind of gross."

	"It's okay," she assured him.  "I like gross."

	"Well, okay.  I guess I could share my bento."

	Anko patted him on the head.  "Thank you, Naruto-kun, but I'll go get
my own lunch.  Tell me, do you like dango?"


	o/~


	"Anko-neechan!" Naruto called as he approached the dango shop.  He'd
already been to the ANBU building and her apartment, and had bought
dango at one of her favorite shops, but, sure enough, when he finally
found her she was at yet another dango vendor.

	Anko looked up, chewing on a bare stick.  "Hey, Naruto-kun!  I was
beginning to think you were avoiding me!"

	"Not big sister Anko!" Naruto replied, using his outgoing public
persona.  "I even brought you a present!" he added, holding up the two
paper boxes with their sticks of dango inside.

	Anko brightened.  "Hey, Kobayashi's!  I've been meaning to go by there."

	"Sorry, no severed heads or blood of the innocent today," Naruto said.

	"Aww, you always know just what to get me.  Thanks, Naruto-kun.  Now
what do you want?"

	"Talk?  Private?"

	Anko gave him a measuring look and he gave her the boxes of dango.
Anko definitely felt she got the better end of the deal.

	"Alright.  Roof of my place, or inside?"

	His eyes narrowed, and for a moment his serious self peeked through.
"Inside," he said.

	Anko's apartment was just like Naruto's own, except it had feminine
clothing strewn here and there and looked like she hadn't picked up
after herself in a week.  He ignored it.  He'd acquired a trait of
keeping an almost obsessively neat home from Ibiki, but Anko was
special in a lot of ways.

	"Alright, whatcha got?" she asked without preamble, sliding one of
the sweet treats off the stick with her tongue.  After a moment's
hesitation, she offered Naruto one of the sticks, but he shook his
head.

	"I've been studying personal interactions and how people relate to
each other," he began.

	Anko wrinkled her brow.  "Which means?"

	"I've been following people, mostly women, around for the past two
weeks learning how they act."

	A mad grin spread across her face, one that had nothing to do with
the tasty tasty dango rolling around on her tongue.  She swallowed.
"Aww, has little Naruto-kun finally discovered girls?" she said in a
cutesy voice.  She faked shock.  "Don't tell me…  you want to have,"
she gasped theatrically, "sex!?  And you need me to tell you how to do
it?!  Aww, Naruto-kun, I'm honored.  Of course big sister Anko will
tell you ALL you need to know."

	Naruto looked at her seriously.  "I already know about sex."

	She dropped the act with a moue of disappointment.  "Yeah, you would,
but only one aspect, so remember that."  She paused.  "And damn you
are hard to tease."

	Naruto ignored her complaint.  "For a long time now, I've had a
problem with people.  Everyone seems to know who I am, and they
whisper and point and are usually pretty unfriendly.  It's hard to
fade into the background when everyone seems pissed at me for some
reason," and here he let real irritation in his voice, "and no one
will tell me why."

	Anko nodded.  She knew it probably had to do with the nine tails, but
the Hokage's injunction stood.  And it was a pretty serious one, one
she'd obey despite firmly believing that not only did Naruto have a
right to know, he would probably handle it well.

	"Since I couldn't blend in, the only option was misdirection, so I
made myself really, really visible, but easily dismissed.  I learned
the henge some time ago, and I can see applications for it, but until
recently I haven't put time into learning to use it effectively.  I've
come up with this."  He formed a seal.  "Henge!"

	Naruto was transformed in an instant, from the short, blond boy in
orange, to a slightly taller, rather mousy looking girl with brown
hair in a combination of the armored mesh fishnet and deep blue pants
and vest.

	Anko gave him a puzzled look.

	"From what I've seen, plain looking girls are the most inconspicuous
type of person.  Guys rarely compete with girls in strength, and the
more attractive women don't consider them a threat, either," Naruto
explained.

	Anko leaned forward and poked Naruto's new form sharply in the
shoulder with her now bare stick.  The henge disappeared with a poof.

	"Naruto, it sucks," Anko said bluntly.

	"Okay," he replied calmly.  "Why, and how should I fix it?"

	She wandered away into her apartment, only to return a few moments
later with a cup of water, which she drained in a thoughtful sort of
manner.

	Naruto watched patiently.

	"Well," she began.  "I could tell it sucked when I first saw it.
Your henge is okay, but it's easy to see through.  It won't stand up
to touch.  But really, it's your look that's the problem.  You're too
plain.  No one is that…  medium."

	Naruto frowned.  One girl was.  It was why he'd picked her as his base look.

	Anko patted him on the head.  "Look, you're going about this all
wrong.  You're just not a guy meant to blend in.  Becoming a girl
isn't a bad idea I suppose, if you get the mannerisms right, since
most people do henge into the same sex, that'll help obscure your real
identity even if someone does see through it.  But you're just a stand
out sort of person.  Misdirection.  Visible, yet dismissed for all the
wrong reasons, right?"

	He nodded slowly.

	Anko grinned, a light springing in her eyes.  "Now, who's the most
visible woman you know?"  She cupped her breasts for effect.

	"You."  Easy answer.  Anko delighted in her effect on others.  "But
scaring the hell out of people will attract the wrong kind of
attention."

	"Ah, but what did your little peeping sessions tell you about how
pretty girls get treated?"
	
	"Men are invariably nicer, hoping to seduce the woman, women tend to
either be neutral or subtly hostile."

	Anko nodded.  "Subtly hostile, is that a problem in most situations?"

	Naruto shook his head.  "No, it seems pointless."

	"Ah ah, you underestimate the importance of securing your place," she
said, wagging a finger.  "But never mind, that only applies if you're
going to keep that place.  Unless," she added, raising an eyebrow,
"you're planning on becoming a girl permanently?"

	Naruto shook his head.  "No, I'm looking for an easy way to move
through the village without drawing notice."

	"That's just it!" she exclaimed.  "Draw attention.  Be sexy.  Make
the girls jealous and the guys drool.  Any decent ninja will be
suspicious if you suddenly start coming onto them, but so long as they
think it's their idea, they're a lot easier to manipulate.  And the
girls?  Feh.  Most will be more jealous than suspicious, and their
snide little insults don't mean anything."

	Naruto's eyes unfocused as he though seriously, then he formed seals.  "Henge!"

	This time, Naruto looked a lot like the busty chunin who'd caught him
peeping and threatened to cut his balls off.  He looked at Anko
expectantly.

	She considered him for a moment.  "Eh, not bad I suppose, for a
general look.  But you look familiar, I think I've seen someone…"  She
trailed off as he nodded.  She shook her head.  "Don't look like
anyone else unless you're impersonating them specifically.  Causes too
many potential problems.  Make it a bit shorter, add some hip.  Change
the hair color."  She considered.  "Leave the tits alone, those are
some first class hooters."

	Naruto dispelled the henge, then tried again.  This time, there was
something… off.

	Anko winced.  "Okay, you need to practice that.  I see why you picked
someone you'd seen before."  She tapped her lip thoughtfully.  "In
fact, I think I have something better."  She headed for her bedroom,
and Naruto could hear rustling around in there.  "I've been forbidden
on pain of boring ass missions from teaching you my jutsu, but this
one ain't mine."

	Naruto watched with anticipation as she emerged, holding a dusty scroll case.

	She handed it to him.  "This is a scroll for hensou no jutsu, an ANBU
infiltration technique.  Henge is just a minor genjutsu, but hensou is
a ninjutsu, harder to see through, since instead of using chakra to
change how someone sees you, you change yourself to look a different
way.  You'll burn more chakra that way, but if you focus hard enough
and use enough chakra, you can keep it from being dispelled."

	Naruto's eyes lit up.  Finally, something beyond academy level
techniques.  This would take some study to master, and he was excited
by the prospect.  "What are its limitations?"

	Anko laughed at his excitement.  "While it may feel pretty easy to
maintain at first, you burn chakra pretty fast when you use it, so
don't get stuck in a situation where you have to use it for a long
time and then have to fight.  Enemies love it when you try to fight
with no chakra."

	"What about maintaining it while unconscious or asleep?"

	She gave him an appraising look.  "Why, planning on sleeping with someone?"

	He didn't rise to the bait.  "No, but I can't predict every situation
I'll end up in.  One day I may have to sleep with a target to kill him
at his most vulnerable time.  And if getting knocked out while
transformed dispels the jutsu, it'll be harder to maintain cover in a
fight."

	Anko shrugged, reminding herself that he was very, very hard to
tease, and for a moment wondering why she put up with him.  But then,
most kids his age were inexperienced and insecure in all sorts of
ways.  Naruto was almost exactly like that damn Ibiki.  Cold.  Very
cold.  The first time Anko had killed, she'd been hot.  Pumped on
battle.  Naruto had not only made his first kill three years younger
than she had, he'd done it almost clinically, with only a faint hint
of satisfaction to show that he did feel something.

	"Well, that's a part of its weakness, really," she clarified.  "If
you keep putting chakra into it, it'll stay activated.  And part of
training is learning to keep putting chakra into it while you sleep.
But while you sleep, or go unconscious, you'll just keep draining your
chakra.  And chakra exhaustion can kill you.  So while it's great for
infiltration, it's a really really good idea to drop it before you get
into a fight."

	Naruto nodded.

	 "Go for it.  And let me have a look at you when you get it figured out."

	Bowing low, Naruto thanked her and headed for home.  Something new to
learn, on a nice, easy to understand scroll.  No more 'experience',
this was actual instructions written down.

	Oh, thank you Anko-san.


	o/~


	Ibiki wasn't the most fatherly of people, Iruka learned, but that
didn't stop him from taking a certain amount of pride in the
accomplishments of his accidental student.  In fact, the story Ibiki
told him brought a certain smile to the scarred man's lips, and a look
of horror to Iruka.

	He heard how a violent, failed genin had played on Naruto's naivety
and spent three days using Naruto as his personal, breakable toy,
before nearly killing him and burying him in the woods in a shallow
grave.

	But Naruto had been exceptional for a small child, and had not only
managed to survive, he'd dug his way to freedom despite terrible
wounds and found help.  He spent several days in the hospital before
the doctor allowed him to be interviewed.  Despite his traumatic
experience, he'd been calm and helpful, easily identifying the man.

	And when the Hokage had passed the worst judgment down possible,
Naruto had wanted to be there.  Insisted.  And somehow talked the
Hokage into allowing him to be present for the man's death by torture.

	Ibiki's eyes softened as he recalled the young boy falling asleep
that first night from exhaustion, despite the screams, and how he'd
covered him with his thick black coat and let him sleep on a couch in
ANBU headquarters.

	Iruka nearly gagged, and not because it was sweet or precious.

	Ibiki recounted how Naruto had been extremely inquisitive, with
literally hundreds of questions, but when each one was answered, he
really listened.  Had Iruka ever had a student who seemed to hang on
every word he said, really seeming to absorb the material?  Yes?  It
was a wonderful feeling, and Ibiki found himself sharing more of his
trade than he'd ever done before.  Before he knew it, Naruto was known
throughout ANBU for his bravery, resistance to trauma, and fortitude
in facing down the man who'd hurt him.  Not everyone, even in a hard
bitten organization like ANBU, approved, but some did, and all
respected him for it.

	What was more, besides just watching as Ibiki carried out the
sentence, he'd even wanted to help.  Offering suggestions, like some
of the things that had been done to him.  And even having his hand on
the knife.  It had actually been Naruto who had carefully cut the
man's throat at the end.  He'd had an audience, and some of them had
clapped.

	Iruka wanted to throw up.  A six year old boy should never have had
to see anything like that.

	Ibiki put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting sort of way, though
it was anything but.

	The thing is, he'd said, when a child goes through an event like what
had been forced on Naruto, the childhood is over.  Most break, often
so completely they can never recover.  Even the ones who don't go
irretrievably mad are changed by it.  Naruto had identified with his
attacker, the man with power.  That was outside anyone's control, even
Naruto's.  What Ibiki had done was give him someone else to identify
with, someone with even more power, the one thing the helpless Naruto
had wanted above all things.

	 Iruka didn't want to listen to the madness, but Ibiki pressed on.

	Naruto had two choices.  He could either become a vicious, cold
blooded killer, a menace to everyone around him, or he could become a
vicious, cold blooded Konoha ninja, a useful member of Konoha's elite
and completely loyal to his comrades.

	Ibiki had helped him make his choice.

	But that was just it!  Naruto was not completely loyal to his
comrades, because he had none.  The boy had created and enforced a
loneliness Iruka wasn't sure he could ever break.  He had no friends,
because he didn't understand what it meant to be a friend.  All he
understood was how to be a ninja, however well that might be.  He
ranted at some length.   Underneath the goofy exterior, underneath the
serious, cold eyed young man, there was a little boy so scared of
being hurt he wouldn't trust anyone to break his loneliness.

	And, when he'd finally ran down and stopped, breathing heavily and
giving Ibiki the maddest, most accusing glare he'd ever given…

	Ibiki had agreed.  And hung his head.


	o/~


	Noodles.  Broth.  Pork.  Vegetables.    Ramen was a simple meal, and
the girl went about preparing it with a gentle smile, carefully
slicing the vegetables and adding them six minutes after the pork had
come to a rolling boil, so they wouldn't get overdone before he added
the noodles.  Food was easy.  Find a recipe, follow it.  If only
everything in life was so simple.

	Naruto wasn't lazy, but he had a strong belief that everyone made
things more complicated than they had to be.

	Food.  He liked food.  Ramen had turned out to be pretty good.  Iruka
had treated him again, one day after school, and given him a new, very
special homework assignment.

	Be a friend to someone.  Not to worry about having a friend in
return, but be a friend to someone.  If nothing else, fake it really
well.

	He hadn't been enthusiastic at first, but Iruka had added something to that.

	"I talked it over with Ibiki-san.  He feels that this is a good way
for you to understand this lesson we've been trying to teach you."

	Well hell, that wasn't fair.  Naruto had allowed himself one brief
internal gripe, then nodded.  And ate his ramen.  Ichiraiku was pretty
damned good.  He'd even treated himself to a ramen tour of Konoha,
kind of like Anko's dango tours, and he had to admit, Ichiraiku was
the best.  He'd told the old man, too, and he seemed to appreciate it.
 Statement of fact, compliment, acceptance, genial relations.

	Why couldn't he just be a friend to an adult?  They were so much
easier to deal with.

	But noooooo…  Iruka insisted that it had to be a classmate.  Gah.

	So far, it hadn't worked out to well.  He apparently hadn't thought
out all the ramifications of his cunning plan to disguise himself as
an idiot for his classmates.  None of them seemed to take him
seriously now, and his, admittedly awkward, attempts to improve
relations hadn't worked out so well.  The Uchiha fangirl Sakura
thought he was hitting on her, Chouji had just given him a puzzled
look and not said anything, and Kiba had said something about not
wanting the scent of loser rubbing off on him.

	Note to self: the weakness of long term plans is that situations change.

	Of course, he could always fail this little extracurricular
assignment.  Certainly the Uchiha boy didn't seem to suffer from his
lack of friends.

	But that would be too much like giving up.  Naruto hadn't found
anything he couldn't do, and this wasn't going to be the first.

	At least the hensou no jutsu training was working out pretty well.
His food budget suddenly stretched twice as far when he went shopping
as a girl.

	Nice.

	Of course, the week he spent with a constant headache from trying,
again, and again, and again, to focus the jutsu correctly and
manipulate his appearance to what he'd wanted had left him in a pretty
grouchy mood.

	Ahah.  Perhaps that was part of why his attempts to 'make friends'
had failed.

	Finally he'd gotten the jutsu down pretty well, but the concentration
required to maintain it made it nearly worthless.  Yeah, he could look
however he wanted, but he found out pretty quick that staying that way
and following a conversation were mutually exclusive things.  One
embarrassing incident at a market on the other side of Konoha left him
with the thought that that particular form wasn't going to be a
character he wanted to use again.

	Enhancing his own look, however, now that was a lot easier.  So now,
instead of a short, thin, blond haired boy in orange clothes making
ramen, it was a six inch taller, curvy, cute young blonde girl in a
blue yukata stirring in the noodles.  His clothes were piled neatly
beside his bed.  The hensou no jutsu relied on an additional henge to
change clothes, as they weren't a part of the actual body.

	Reaction to her had ranged from gentle smiles and nearly patronizing
conversations he supposed was meant to reassure him, to interested
looks and in one case an outright sexual proposition.

	Even Anko had approved, and her only complaint, if anything, was that
Naruto had the cute girl act down a little too well.


	"Come on, kid, you're a boy!  At least be a little awkward about this!"

	Blushing, she had toed the ground slightly and held her hands behind
her back.  "D-do you mean, erm, like this?" she said in a hesitant,
breathy voice.

	"Oooh, sexy sexy."  Anko narrowed her eyes.  "You keep acting like
that, and you're practically begging for someone to come molest you."

	Naruto widened her eyes theatrically.  "Oh no!" she gasped.  "But…
but everyone has been so nice to me!  Why, if someone were to...
accost me, I think I'd scream!  Surely someone would save me!"  She
sounded positively horrified at the thought.

	Abruptly, Naruko disappeared and Naruto stood there with a cold eyed
look.  There was a kunai in his hand.   "But if not, I'm sure the
authorities would admit to a girl's right to defend herself."

	Anko grinned.  "That's my Naruto."

	
	Naruto carefully served himself and sat down to think as she ate.

	Clearly, this was not something he was going to figure out in a day.
Perhaps this random selection process wasn't what he needed.  What he
needed…  what he needed was the perfect candidate.

	He'd just have to keep hunting until he found one.

	
	o/~


	The kunai sank two inches into the dense wood of the target log, and
Naruto back flipped from the imagined attack, then drew one of his
most recent acquisitions, a fourteen inch aikuchi style wakizashi,
from behind his back in a reverse grip and slashed across the log at
head height for his imaginary enemy.  Aikuchi style blades didn't have
a tsuba to guard the hand, instead having a smooth profile from the
sheathe to the hilt.  Kunai were excellently designed throwing knives,
but they weren't ideal for hand to hand, though many ninja used them
exclusively.  Naruto had discovered a book in the public library that
offered a reasoned approach to blades, and he'd decided that a blade
made for slashing attacks would suit him.  The longer blade might also
prove an equalizer due to his short reach, and the straighter profile
would help should he decide to throw it.

	Accordingly, he'd bought three, and had two slid under his shirt
angled for a right hand draw, and one angled for his left.  He'd also
managed to pick up a better quality set of kunai, and a stack of cheap
shuriken.

	It was amazing what some money saving tricks like shopping as a girl
could do over the course of even just a few weeks.
	
	He'd had his eye on a roll of good wire, but it'd be another two
months before he could afford that.  Good ninja wire was hard to make,
and cost appropriately.

	Fighting with his right on a dedicated knife meant he only had his
left free for throwing, but practice was ironing out the kinks, and he
was getting as good with his left as he'd been with his right.

	After an hour, he picked up his weapons and stretched hugely, then
decided to go for a cool down run.

	About a hundred steps after he ran out of the training ground,
however, his stomach rumbled.  Suddenly, the cool down run, which
wasn't really for training, more for easing his muscles into rest,
didn't seem like such a pressing matter.

	Without a single step of hesitation, he made a loop around a tree and
took the more direct route back to the village.

	He ran with an easy lope, using the bare minimum of chakra required
for a mild running pace.  Amazingly, however, he spotted someone on
the trail in front of him, also going back to Konoha.  The training
ground was the only thing out that way, so Naruto came to the obvious
conclusion.

	"Hey," he called, using his friendly voice.  "I'm done with the
training ground, you can have it."

	The figure, he could see it was a girl about his age now, made a
sound like 'eep' and immediately ducked behind a bush.

	That was odd.  Naruto stopped as he neared.

	"Hello?  I was just saying I'm done with the training ground.  Don't
you want to use it?" he called.

	A head popped up from behind the bush, short, dark hair framing a red
tinged face.  Weird, nearly white, pupilless eyes.  "Ahhh…  thank you,
no…" she stammered.

	"Hinata Hyuga?  You don't want the training ground?  Why are you out
here then?" he asked, honestly curious.

	He knew her name!  She blushed, for that was what it was making her
ordinarily pale face seem so red, even more and tapped her fingers
together.  "A-ah, I was out looking for herbs and I thought I saw one
behind this bush."

	Naruto blinked.  "Really?  What was it?"  Konoha's forests were full
of plants with interesting applications.  He'd read a couple books on
the subject.

	She glanced around.  "A-ah, akebi."

	Naruto's expression grew serious as he tried to remember what akebi was.

	Seeing the look on his face, she pulled a length of vine out of the
branches of the bush and held them up for his inspection.  "Akebi.
Chocolate vine."

	"Oh."  No wonder he didn't remember.  It had no ninja applications.

	Hinata looked away.  Of course he wouldn't be impressed by something
so useless.  Like her.

	"Hey, what's wrong?  You got this look all of a sudden…"  He trailed
off.  That was an odd reaction.

	"N-nothing.  I-"  She broke off.

	Naruto raised one eyebrow, not at Hinata, but at himself.  Wow, he
really needed to learn how to talk to people.  No wonder he still
hadn't completed Iruka's assignment.

	"So what were you going to do with the akebi?" he asked suddenly.
She seemed to do best with direct questions.

	"Ahh, I was going to plant some at home," she said hesitantly.

	"Why?  What's it good for?"

	She looked down.  "Not much."

	Naruto nearly walked away in frustration.  "But it's got to be good
for something, right?  Otherwise you wouldn't have wanted it, right?"

	Hinata was about to pass out from the stress.  Here he was, TALKING
to her, and she couldn't even answer his questions.  He probably
thought she was an idiot.  "Well," she began finally, "you can eat the
berries when they're ripe.  And it smells like chocolate..."  She
glanced at Naruto's face, and her heart sunk.  He was bored and
probably only talking to her to be polite.  Frantically, she ransacked
her memory to come up with something he might be interested in.

	"A-also, you can add it to things you want to smell like chocolate,
like p-poisons, if you want."  Oh, great, now he'd think she was some
scary poisoner girl.  No one liked people who used poisons.

	Her heart leapt as Naruto perked up and looked interested.  It worked!

	"Really?" he replied.  "I guess I kind of thought that it was a
useless vine, but I can see uses for that.  So you really know your
plants, huh?"

	She blushed more.  Now he'd think she was arrogant.  "Not really,"
she said shamefaced.

	"Oh, come on.  You knew what akebi was, that's more than I know.
Know any good local poisons?"

	Shyly, she nodded.  "There's a mold you can find sometimes that's
really deadly-"

	Naruto shook his head.  "Nah, I know that one, and it's too easily
countered and too hard to concentrate.  What I want is a nice
paralytic poison, something that won't kill, but can stop."

	Hinata nodded thoughtfully.

	"The best would be aconite, but it doesn't grow around here.  I'd
have to buy it, and it's too expensive."

	"The Grass village has some really good poisons," Hinata replied,
"but you'd have the same problem."

	Naruto nodded.  "Yeah, they have some good ones, or so I've read.
And Sand has some good ones, too, scorpion venom and snake types."

	Hinata remembered something she'd saw one, when reading about edible
mushrooms.  "Ano, does it have to be a paralyzing poison?  Because
there's something called a tiger mushroom that you can sometimes find
near Konoha.  It causes severe pain and convulsions."

	Naruto blinked.  "Hey, that would work pretty good.  Where can I find
tiger mushrooms?"

	Hinata poked her fingers together and blushed, but this time in
pleasure.  "Damp, shady places, mostly, just like other mushrooms.
They have dark stripes like a tiger on their undersides, but they're
pale white on top, just like a lot of other types."

	Naruto smiled at her.  He smiled at her!

	"Hey, thanks, Hyuga-san.  I'm going to get something to eat now.
Good luck on finding herbs!"  Giving her a jaunty wave, he jogged away
towards Konoha.

	Less than a minute later, he smacked himself in the forehead and
turned around again.  This time, however, he couldn't find the Hyuga
girl.

	 	
	o/~


	Warily, Naruto watched the dark haired girl in class.  She was quiet.
 Really, she said less of meaning to her classmates than he did, and
up until recently, Naruto had never been anything but frivolous.

	She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in something he really
didn't understand.

	Hell, she seemed to be the most powerful of all the kunoichi, not
that, admittedly, that was saying much.  Her grades were good, but not
as high as Sakura's perfect scores.  Ino was better at civilian
blending skills, but Hinata wasn't ignorant.  And when it came time
for sparring, she seemed to have lightening reflexes for taijutsu.
Her chakra control seemed nearly perfect, as well.

	But then she'd nearly invariably lose on points.

	Weird.  It was almost as if…

	Naruto's eyebrow raised.

	She wasn't really trying.

	Fascinating.

	What reason could she have for hiding her abilities?  He knew why he
did it.  But something about the brief conversation he'd had with him
didn't seem right.

	So, time for more research.

	
	o/~


	A week later, he had to admit, he hadn't learned much.  His hensou no
jutsu was useful for following her around without being noticed, but
she seemed basically impossible to follow without being seen whenever
she left public areas, almost like she had eyes in the back of her
head.  Once, she seemed to go to the training grounds, but when he
'happened' to show up, she was nowhere to be found.

	And the rest of the time, she was in that damned high walled place
she called home.  No way to sneak in there.

	But he'd learned a few things.  The Hyuga were an old, rich, powerful
clan.  The oldest, the richest, the most powerful in Konoha.  And,
they had a bloodline limit, the byakugan, which enabled them to see
much better than any other shinobi, save possibly the Uchiha, which
explained why it was so damned hard to follow her.

	Lastly, she seemed to be just about the most insecure person he'd
ever met.  He'd developed a theory that the reason she didn't try
wasn't because she didn't want to tip her hand, it was because she was
somehow afraid.

	Which didn't make any damned sense.

	Okay, the time for intel gathering was past.  Time for an assault.


	o/~


	"A-ano, you wanted to meet me out here, Naruto-kun?" she asked
weakly.  A thousand scenarios had ran through her head since he'd
asked her to help him find the tiger mushroom after school.

	"Yeah.  Like I said earlier, I can't seem to find a tiger mushroom
anywhere around here."  He scratched the back of his head and chuckled
lightly at his own stupidity.  Really, he hadn't even tried.   "You've
got that amazing vision thing, right?  What's it called?"

	"Ah, it's called the byakugan.  It's the Hyuga clan bloodline limit.
Of course I'll use it to help you find the mushroom."  She was
flattered he'd even asked.

	"Lead the way, oh beautiful Hyuga princess," he intoned, bowing low.

	*thump*

	"Hinata?  What the hell?"

	A minute later and some not completely kind slaps to her cheeks
brought her back around.

	"I'm so sorry, really!  I'm really terribly sorry about that," she
exclaimed, horribly embarrassed.

	God she was annoying.  "No, no, it's okay.  Why did you faint, anyway?"

	"..eep!"

	Rolling his eyes where she couldn't see them, he shook his head.
"Ah, never mind.  If it makes you that uncomfortable.  Anyway, onward
to the mushrooms!"

	For a while, he let her search in peace, watching curiously as she
formed seals and channeled chakra to her eyes, making her vision seem
freakishly intense.   She would point out groups of mushrooms, and
he'd obediently go and investigate, though so far they hadn't found a
rare tiger mushroom.

	"So, what's your family like?" Naruto asked.

	"What?" she asked in shock, dropping her technique.

	"Sorry, I was just curious and wanted to know some more about you.  I
don't have a family, you know," he replied offhandedly.

	She dropped her head.  "I know," she whispered.

	He picked up on her mood.  "Eh, it's not great, but it's not too bad.
 I mean, it'd be nice to have a mother or father, I guess."

	She nodded, slowly.  "I lost my mother when I was very young.  I miss
her, sometimes."

	Finally, some answers.  "And your father?"

	She took a while before replying.  "Father is the head of the entire
family.  He is very… strict."

	Interesting word choice.  "Yeah, I guess it'd be nice, but it is
kinda nice to not have someone always nagging at me."

	She bobbed her head, then resumed her search.

	A little while later, he tried a more direct approach.  "Hey, Hinata?"

	"Yes?" she asked softly.

	"You seem like you could be a really good fighter, but you always
lose your sparring matches.  Why is that?"

	She blushed.  "I-I'm really not very good at fighting."

	He gave her a puzzled look.  "But you could be.  You're faster than
anyone else with your hands, I've seen you.  You should be kicking
ass."

	"I can't," she replied helplessly.

	"But why?" he pressed, getting irritated.

	She wrung her hands in consternation.  "I just can't!"
	
	"That's not an answer," he pointed out reasonably.

"I'm just not like you, okay?" she snapped.  "I w-want to be like you,
I want to TRY like you, but I can't!"

	Naruto blinked, stunned, then, before he could help himself, laughed.

	Mortified, she turned and bolted.

	"Shit!"  This wasn't going according to plan.  He'd already put a lot
of energy into this, and he wasn't going to see it wasted just because
of some weird girl.  He bounded after her.

	Fortunately, while Hinata had lightening quick punches, she was only
an average runner, and Naruto managed to catch up to her and tackle
her from behind.  They fell into a skidding roll, and he suddenly
found himself with a wildcat in his arms.  She flailed about
frantically, and her blows, while glancing hurt more than they had a
right to.

	"Hin-oof-ata, wait oww! a minute!  Stop you're OWW hurting me!" he
gasped, trying to keep the panicking girl from escaping.  Her own
breath seemed to be coming in hitches and sobs, and her struggles, if
anything, were getting stronger and faster.

	Finally, in desperation, he let go with one hand, taking the stinging
blow to his chest in favor of a nice over arm swing that bonked his
fist off the top of her head.  She went limp in his arms.

	"Finally, crap," he gasped, rolling off her unconscious body.  "Crazy
bitch needs to calm down now."
	
	After a moment to get his breath back and massage feeling back into
the places she'd hit, he rubbed his head.  "Alright, now what?"

	
	Hinata awoke to another series of stinging slaps to her cheeks, and
she gasped and struggled to sit up.  However, there seemed to be
someone in bright orange clothes sitting on her chest, and her arms
were tied behind her back, and her feet seemed to be tied together as
well.  "NARUTO!"

	"Calm down, Hinata, I just want to talk, okay?  Just take a deep
breath and calm…" he said, demonstrating, "down."

	After a moment's struggle, she did as he commanded.

	"Now.  I don't know what I said to upset you.  I'm sorry I laughed.
But I wasn't laughing at you."  Tiny lie, there.  "Now, could you
please tell me what's wrong?"

	"I…  You laughed at me," she said plaintively.

	He sighed and rubbed his face with one hand.  "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry
if I hurt your feelings.  I was laughing, err, at myself."

	"What?"

	"At myself," he repeated, warming to his story.  "You see, I'm not
really trying at the academy.  I'm kinda afraid to."  Oh, what a lie,
he thought.  Those famous eyes really don't see much, do they?

	She struggled to sit up again, looking at him with wide eyes, then
gave up.  "Afraid?  Why?  Of what?" she asked, shocked.

	He shrugged, because, honestly, he didn't know what to tell her.

	"But, you've always tried so hard!" she proclaimed, trying to make
sense of his words.  "When we were learning the shadow shuriken
technique, you stayed out there practicing it for days!"

	"Hinata, I figured it out in about ten minutes.  I just didn't want
everyone else to know that I could do it."

	"But, why?"

	He shrugged again.  "So if I ever fought one of them, I could use the
technique and it'd come as a complete surprise."

	She shook her head.  "But why would you fight one of your friends like that?"

	"They're not my friends," he replied honestly.

	"Not your friends?!  What do you mean?"  Concern was easy to see on
her face, and he frowned.

	"I don't have any friends.  Everyone thinks I'm an idiot, and I've
put a lot of work into making them think so."

	"A-ano, I don't think you're an idiot, Naruto-kun," she said hesitantly.

	One corner of his mouth quirked up.  "I guess so.  And here all this
time I've been trying to be your friend, too."

	Her eyes widened in shock.  "Trying to…!"  Her head made a soft thump
as it hit the ground.

	"Hinata?" he asked, poking her cheek with one finger.  "Hinata?"
Pause.  "SON OF A BITCH!"

	
	o/~


	"I want you to hit me."

	"Huh?

	"Hit me," Naruto replied.  "Come on, don't you want to know what it's
really like?  I hit you earlier.  Pretty hard, even.  Knocked you out.
 So hit me."

	"But, I don't want-" she began.

	"Come on, Hinata, you'll never know what you can do if you don't ball
up that fist and HIT someone with it."  He jumped in front of her and
stood unguarded.  "Come on.  Hit me, right here," he said, tapping his
jaw.

	"But, Naruto, it'll hurt you," she protested.

	I can take it, he didn't say out loud.  "It's okay, I probably
deserve it.  Come on, Hinata.  I know you've got it in you, you just
need to release it.  Now do what I say, and hit me."

	Dubiously, she clenched her fist and looked first at it, then at him.
 "A-are you sure?"

	"Come on, free shot.  I won't hate you, I won't get mad at you, in
fact, nothing would make me happier than for you to hit me.  So come
on."  He tapped his jaw again, then settled his stance, bracing
himself.  "Hit me."

	She raised her fist, then half lowered it, fear writ plain on her face.

	"We've really got to work on your following instructions.  HIT ME."

	Slowly, Hinata raised her fist again, took a deep breath, and swung
like a cobra striking out at a mongoose.

	Suddenly the world was all in gray, and he was looking at it
sideways, the grass covering about half his vision, and Hinata moving
frantically, calling out to him in some sort of weird, frantic,
totally silent way.

	"Hey," he protested weakly.  "You hit me in the ear…"

	Blackness.


	o/~



	It turned out, there were a whole host of problems with being
'friends' with a Hyuga.

	For one, Naruto was basically persona non grata to the Hyugas, who
prided breeding and class almost as much as they prided power.  And
after one pointed comment to Hinata one evening, just from a
shopkeeper whom Naruto had once dumped a powder made from poison ivy
leaves on his hanging laundry, it became clear that just his presence
could hurt Hinata's standing.  So he avoided her in public, and she
took his explanation well enough, though she looked sad.

	Another, and rather more difficult to solve, issue, was that she was
expected to train at her home nearly all of her time outside the
academy, which he'd already knew, but hadn't considered.

	Although, it wasn't like he wanted to spend a whole lot of time
around her, but he had certain obligations he needed to fulfill if he
was going to solve this tremendously difficult problem Ibiki-san and
Iruka-sensei had given him.

	Naruto didn't complain, though.  He could see the utility.  There
almost certainly would come a time when he'd have to 'make friends',
either to gain an ally, or deceive an enemy.

	Too bad he had no talent for making friends.

	But, hey, he could fake it.

	So he listened to her dreary problems.  He sat through her blushing,
stammering explanation of why she looked up to him, which took an hour
longer than it had a right to.  He discovered that she actually had a
longstanding interest in him and would often keep track of his
movements and activities, to a level that, quite frankly, scared the
hell out of him at first, though he quickly warmed to the
possibilities inherent in a Hyuga ally.  At some length he realized
that where most girls in his class had an infatuation with Sasuke
Uchiha, Hinata had a mad romantic crush on him.  He nodded seriously
when she told him that she was the weakest member of the Hyuga, and
how her father wouldn't acknowledge her.

	And while he listened, he thought.  And came to a conclusion.

	Everyone's looking for something.  Figure out what that something is,
and offer it to them, and you have power over them.  Power that can be
used for all sorts of interesting things.  This was why everyone was
so upset that he didn't understand why he needed friends.  And,
really, that was kind of a childish, silly thing to think.  By not
having friends, he was limiting the heights he could reach as a ninja.

	Naruto had some things he wanted to do.  Things he would need friends for.

	So, finally, at the end of yet another conversation where Hinata
found herself pouring out her fears and secrets to this boy she barely
knew but had admired for so long…

	Naruto clapped one hand on each of her shoulders and looked her
square in the eye, pouring every ounce of seriousness, of conviction,
of force of personality he possessed into the look he gave her, and
said three little words.

	"I acknowledge you."

	Her smile was small, but genuine.  There was even a tear in her eye.
And Naruto turned and walked away, confident she'd follow.

	And she did.

	Because that was what she was.  Now to make her useful.	


	o/~


	"I have an assignment for you, Hinata.  A…  schoolwork assignment, if
you will."  Naruto smirked at her, his eyes both hard and knowing.

	It made her shiver.  She'd always known Naruto was the type to never
give up, and he was stronger than everyone gave him credit for, but
she'd had no idea how strong.  He'd given her a glimpse.  She wanted
more.

	"Yes, Naruto," she replied, regretting how short their time together
was.  Between school and her training at home, she was lucky to see
him at the training grounds twice a week, and then often for only an
hour or two.  But, while he'd shown her the strength she really
possessed, and shown her how to compensate for the weaknesses that
daunted her, the most amazing things were what he'd taught her about
what it meant to be a ninja.

	"I want you to lose a fight."

	Her eyes widened.

	His smile widened in that knowing way he had, as if he were twice her
age rather than a few months younger.  "You've shown that you can hide
your abilities, even from yourself.  You've gotten better at learning
what you're actually capable of.  But you're still afraid of losing.
You're still afraid of what people will think of you, right?"

	Hinata wanted to protest, but Naruto seemed to know her better than
she knew herself.  And she knew that it wasn't a question he'd asked
her.  She nodded.

	"People are often fools.  They see what they want."  He raised his
eyebrow at her.  "In some cases, they see what they don't want.
You're still afraid of failure.  So, you fail.  Like a rabbit so
afraid of the snake, all it can do is stare and shiver as the snake
slithers up and eats it.  You have to accept failure.  Some of the
time, you are going to fail."

	"Ah, Naruto, but you've never failed when you didn't mean to," she
said hesitantly.

	He shook his head.  "Actually, Hinata, I've failed a number of times.
 And I was really, really, close to failing what I've been told is the
most important lesson a ninja can learn."

	"What's that?"

	"The importance of friends," he said with a tight smile.  "You're
helping me learn that lesson.  And I'm going to help you."

	She felt her cheeks warm, and her chest felt tight, but it wasn't a
bad thing.  It actually felt… good.

	"So, here's what I want you to do."  He put a hand on her shoulder,
like he always did when he was being really serious.  "I want you to
lose a fight," he said, exactly the way he'd first brought it up.

	"I don't understand."

	"Lose a fight," he repeated.  "I want you to pick a fight with
someone at school.  Someone weak.  I want you to start a fight where
you won't be the hero.  And, I want you to lose."

	"B-but," she started, then shut her mouth.  What if her father found
out?  A Hyuga, losing a pointless fight, he'd be furious!  There was
no telling what sort of punishment he'd make her do.

	Naruto's eyes got hard as she made a word of protest, then softened
as he saw her resolve firm.  "Yes, that's it, exactly.  Whatever
consequences will be, will be.  We may lose a fight with an enemy one
day.  If so, we will die.  It's as simple as that.  But if you're
afraid of dying all the time, you won't have the will to win."

	He was right.  Wordlessly, not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.
 She would do it.  Because Naruto told her to, and Naruto was always
right.

	"Now, let's spar.  Show me you know how to lose, and make it look good."

	She nodded, then paused.  "Ah, I think I made a mistake yesterday."

	"Mmm?"

	"When I beat Shikamaru in that taijutsu spar," she explained softly.
"He looked surprised, and he had shifty eyes.  I think he suspects
I've gotten better."

	Naruto rubbed his nose.  "I was wondering about that, I watched the
whole match.  I don't think it's an issue, Shikamaru isn't very
strong, but if you say he looked suspicious, I'll keep an eye on him."

	She blushed in pleasure.  Naruto hadn't been disappointed in her.

	"Now, come at me like you hate me."


	o/~


	There were collective gasps from all around her, students who
couldn't believe that Hinata, the shyest girl in class, had just said
that to INO, the loudest.

	"W-what?!" Ino spluttered, shocked beyond thought for a moment at the
insult coming from HINATA of all people.  But never mind who, it was
what she said that pissed her off.  Beside her, Sakura and Tsuki, a
brunette who lived down the road from her family shop, also bristled
at the comments, unsure who it'd been directed at.  But it was Ino
who'd responded first.

	Oh no, this was incredibly hard.  She didn't have anything against
Ino.  But she'd gotten scared the first day, and while Naruto hadn't
said anything, she could feel his disapproval burning into her as
she'd walked home.  And today, when Ino had been squabbling with
Sakura and Tsuki over some imagined trait of Sasuke, she'd just
blurted it out.  Now she wanted to sink into her chair.  The eyes of
the entire class were boring into her, but only one mattered.  She
briefly locked gazes with Naruto.  He had a smile.

	"I asked what you said, Hinata," Ino repeated, her voice low and
dangerous.  "Or don't you have the guts to say it to my face?"

	Taking a deep breath, Hinata steeled her nerves and mustered disdain
into her voice.  "Sorry, I didn't realize you were deaf and stupid.  I
said, 'Will the blonde screeching harpy Uchiha fangirl ever sit down
and shut up?'  Which wasn't what she'd really said, having actually
referred to 'all the stupid Uchiha fangirls'.  But since Ino made
herself a target, she could paraphrase.

	Wow.  It was really kind of neat watching the flicker of changing
expressions on Ino's face as she went from pissed to completely
irrational in the span of about five seconds.

	"You…!  You…!  YOU BITCH!" Ino screeched, her voice hitting those
high registers she was infamous for when she got mad.

	Hinata winced theatrically and dug a finger into her ear.  "Alright,
alright, I apologize.  You can keep looking like an idiot as you throw
yourself at Sasuke all you want.  Just shut up, please, no one wants
to hear it."  Several people around her, all male, chuckled
appreciatively.  Two were looking at her with raised eyebrows, and one
was Shikamaru.  He looked, it was hard to say, smarter than usual.

	Ino spluttered in fresh rage, then lunged abruptly.  She barely made
it three feet before people around her grabbed her and held her back.

	Hinata yawned, covering her mouth politely, and turned away as if
bored.  It took a moment, because her heart was pounding, but, with a
struggle, she managed to resume her usual blank expression.

	"HEY!  Don't you look away from me, you bitch!" Ino cried, visibly
struggling with her attackers.  Hinata didn't bother looking around,
but as a Hyuga, her peripheral vision was extraordinary.  "What the
hell is wrong with you, Hinata?!"  Ino forcibly calmed herself, then
turned catty.  "I guess even little miss prissy gets pissy 'that
time'."

	Hinata winced inside.  She didn't want to hurt Ino.  But she had a
mission.  She could feel bad about it later.  Maybe she'd even be able
to make it up to Ino later.

	Instead, she shook her head slowly.  "No, Ino, only little girls let
their bodies control them," she replied, putting enough disdain in her
voice at 'little girls' as she turned and looked at the blonde that
there was no doubt who she was referring to.  "But I guess it is
amusing that everyone around you knows when you're in 'that time',"
she added mockingly.

	"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Ino screeched, and lunged anew.

	Surprisingly, Hinata felt herself warming to the exercise.  She gave
Ino a full force look from her byakugan.  "You could never touch a
Hyuga, Yamanaka.  These eyes miss nothing.  Like the padding on your
chest."

	There were scattered snickers at that, but most of the class was
looking at Hinata like she'd grown a second head.  She wanted to wilt
under the mutters and the glares.  Apparently, she'd succeeded in more
than just getting Ino mad enough to want to fight.

	"You and me!  Right here!" Ino called, and Sakura actually let go of
her friend's arm.

	Hinata shrugged as if it didn't matter.  "Nah.  I'd want a challenge.
 Besides, Iruka-sensei will be back soon."

	"After class, then, bitch!"

	"I'll be there."

	Iruka walked back in to a class abuzz with tension.  He tried to
figure it out, but other than some hostile glances here and there,
directed, as near as he could tell, at no one in particular, he ended
up passing it off as kids being kids.

	The rest of the day was pure torture for Hinata.  She had to fight
Ino later today.  And she had to lose, and lose badly.  Yesterday, it
had just been Naruto's disapproval she had to deal with.  But today,
everyone hated her.  In just a few minutes, she'd gone from being
ignored, just a dark, weird, shy girl, to being an arrogant bitch that
no one liked.  Even Naruto- wait.

	Yes, he did look at her.  And his face was just as stony and hateful
as the looks everyone else was giving her.

	Then he winked at her.  Fast.  Just a flutter of his eyelid.  And
Hinata knew that the only person who mattered knew what she was doing.
 And approved.

	She could do this.  She could!  For Naruto.  And herself.

	
	"Alright, bitch, ready to get your ass kicked?!" Ino spat viciously.
She'd spent the entire day stewing, getting angrier and angrier.  To
make her even more furious, Hinata seemed almost bored.

	Hinata, for her part, was anything but bored.  In fact, she was
incredibly nervous.  Frightened, even, but she covered it up by
concentrating on the weariness she felt from having been tense for two
days straight.  Instead of looking tired, though, she looked bored.

	Almost their entire class stood around, minus a few who'd had to
leave for various reasons, but plus a few accidental audience members
who'd tagged along out of curiosity.

	"Kick her ass, Ino!" Sakura called.  Her sentiment was echoed by
quite a few other girls, most of them irritated by Hinata's disdain
for 'Uchiha fan girls'.

	"Oh, I will," Ino replied, gritting her teeth and stepping lightly
into the informal ring the audience had formed.  Most of them were
distinctly on 'her' side of the arena.  "Watch me kick her ass,
Sasuke!"

	"Sasuke isn't here, Ino," Hinata answered.  "I guess he didn't feel
like seeing you get humiliated today.  After all, he sees it every day
you throw yourself at him."

	"DIE!" Ino screeched, and charged.

	Hinata had never faced such an angry enemy before.  She'd fought
faster, in fact, everyone in her family was faster, and Naruto was no
slouch, either.  But Ino had a ferocity to her motions that made her
rather intimidating.  She dodged the first punch and slapped Ino's
snap kick away on reflex, slipping into her training for an instant.

	And, for a brief moment, she saw it.  She saw an opening as Ino
stumbled away, she could hit the blonde full in the chest with a
juken, then dominate the fight from there.  It was tempting, after
all, Ino really wanted to hurt her.  Hinata's hand flashed out…  then
slowed.

	Ino leapt away, breathing hard and massaging her calf where Hinata
had slapped it.

	Hinata shifted back to a normal standing posture, not a stance, her
hands at her sides.  Even without her byakugan activated, she could
have ended the fight.  And, for the first time, she understood what
Naruto meant when he said hiding your abilities took more effort than
displaying them.

	But, she wasn't as good as Naruto.  It was only through Naruto's
guidance that she had become willing to hurt other people at all,
which basically meant beating the hell out of Naruto in most of their
practice sessions.  Did she have anything to hide?

	Ino charged again, throwing a series of quick punches to her torso,
forcing Hinata to clench her hands to avoid countering and dart to
each side and backwards to avoid being hit.

	"But I'm supposed to-" she whispered to herself, stopping before she
said anything Ino might pick up.  She was supposed to lose.  Because
Naruto said so.  It was her mission to lose.

	Ino's leg connected with her thigh with a meaty thwack as Hinata
slowed for a moment.  Pain lanced up her leg, and Hinata jumped to one
side and rolled away, nursing her injured leg.  The girl wasn't
anywhere near as strong as Naruto, but she'd picked probably the
worse, or perhaps the best, time to get hit.  It had been a full force
blow, right at the maximum extension and speed.

	"Hah!" Ino exulted.  "Not so cocky now, are you?  I guess the Hyuga
aren't all that after all!"

	Hinata crouched, breathing fast and shallow as she dropped one hand
to feel of her leg.  Up until now, she'd been almost totally passive,
responding to the attacks only.  Time to attack.

	She leapt from her crouch at Ino, arms outstretched as if to tackle.
Ino dodged to the side easily enough, though without time to
counterattack, and Hinata landed on her hands and flipped into a roll,
coming to her feet in an instant.  Spinning to avoid the knee aimed at
her kidneys, she launched an uppercut at Ino's face.  Fortunately for
Ino, who had one hand ineffectually on Hinata's shoulder, and her
other blocked by Hinata's forearm, Hinata deliberately missed to the
left, brushing her cheek with the edge of her hand.  After all, she
had been the bully, and she didn't deserve to win.

	And Ino head butted her in the nose.

	"OW!" Hinata cried, stumbling back.  The blonde must have been well
and truly pissed to risk damage to her own face just to hit Hinata.

	"That's for being such a stuck up Hyuga," Ino called, though she
clutched at her own forehead.

	The crowd cheered, immensely entertained.

	"GO INO!" Sakura called.  "That's using your FOREHEAD!"

	"Sorry, Sakura!" Ino called back, turning slightly.  "Didn't mean to
steal your secret technique, forehead girl!"

	That had hurt, Hinata thought to herself as she clutched her now
bloody nose.  It didn't feel broken, but just touching it brought
spikes of pain and made her eyes water.  Okay, forget losing, forget
winning, forget whose fault this fight was, Hinata was pissed.

	So she darted forward, following Ino's rapidly retreating steps and
flailing hands, and punched the girl in the stomach, barely
remembering to not use the juken, but not pulling the strength any,
either.

	Ino folded up over her hand and retched in an instant, vomit
splattering down Hinata's leg and shoe.

	Still pissed, Hinata grabbed Ino's ponytail and proceeded to knee her
in the head several times, the first time pretty hard, the second and
third much more gently, more for show.  Of course, this had the effect
of smearing bits of Ino's lunch all over her face.  Some of the crowd
cheered for that, too, but more catcalls and insults flew her way than
anything.

	Hinata released Ino's hair and allowed her to slump to her hands and
knees, spitting bile into the grass.  "Come on, Ino, is that all
you've got?!" Hinata raged.  "Is that it?  You get hit and you quit?
You really are pathetic, you know that?  Get up!  Get up and hit me!"
Unconsciously, she repeated the same thing Naruto had told her in
their first real sparring session together.

	Ino retched one last time, then lifted her head as she wiped drool
and blood from her lips with the back of one hand, glaring at Hinata
from beneath disheveled bangs.

	"Come on!" Hinata taunted, shocked at the words coming out of her
mouth.  "Or just quit, go home.  I've got no use for someone who won't
FIGHT!"

	Naruto, she thought.  Naruto's words, my mouth.

	And I used to be such a nice girl.

	Ino launched herself like a charging boar, a wordless scream of fury
exploding from her throat as she leapt for her tormentor.

	Not thinking, just knowing that it was time, she braced herself for
the impact, holding out her hands to meet the rush.

	Ino planted one foot right before she hit, using that leg for extra
power as she hit upwards, head down, arms outstretched.  As a fighting
technique, it sucked.  But Hinata didn't move, she took it, head
hitting between her breasts, arms wrapping around her, everything.

	The two flew together, and somehow Ino ended up with her knees in
Hinata's stomach, driving the air from them with a tremendous ooof as
they hit, Hinata flat on her back.

	The first punch hit Hinata's bloody nose with a feeling like a
starburst in her head.  Everything was kind of muted after that, with
Ino screaming imprecations and pounding fist after fist into Hinata's
face, before finally, the screaming, snarling she-beast was pulled
bodily off Hinata's limp body.

	Time passed.

	A number of figures surrounded her, hard to see through her swollen
eyes, a strange sensation for a Hyuga.

	More time passed.

	The figures went away, except for one, who crouched down beside her.

	And he spoke.

	"Today, I watched a girl do the hardest thing I've ever seen.
Everyone wants to be the hero.  Everyone wants to be right.  But
sometimes, we need to do things that aren't right.  Because they have
to be done.  It takes a lot to be a bad guy when you don't mean it.
It takes a lot to lose when you have to.  Today, I watched a girl, a
silly, blonde thing obsessed with boys and her hair, walk away from a
victory, her bloody face held high in pride.  She's probably never
known a victory before.  You gave her that, Hinata, and no one will
ever know it but me."

	He paused, and bent down closer.  Hinata wasn't sure, her lips seemed
swollen and numb, but he may have kissed her.  She'd have blushed, but
her cheeks were turning an ugly shade of blue not suitable for
blushing.

	"Yours will be other victories.  For now, enjoy your defeat, and know
it was right."

	Moaning softly, Hinata allowed him to pick her up and carry her to
the hospital.  Naruto's kiss burned on her lips.

	
	o/~

	
Her father was furious, of course.  For three weeks solid, he had her
training from the moment she got out of the academy until she passed
out from exhaustion.  Of course, much of the training involved him or
her little sister beating the crap out of Hinata.

	Perversely, Hinata knew her father would actually be pleased with the
strides she'd made.   But she wasn't going to give him the
satisfaction.

	A plan had formed in her mind.

	She was going to get through this.  She was going to suffer every
closure of her tenketsu, every juken strike, every four hour session
stabbing two fingered strikes into the carefully labeled tatami target
dummy that had to be replaced twice daily, training sessions that left
her arms feeling like jelly and her head swimming.

	She was going to take the look on her little sister's face, the
little sister she adored, the look that told her how disappointed she
was in her big sister.

	And when she got through it, she was going to see Naruto again.  She
had seen failure.  Now she wanted to see Naruto win.

	She wanted to be there with him.  She didn't even bother to try and
repair the damage her fight with Ino had done to her reputation.  All
of that was cast behind her now.  She just wanted to be stronger, so
she could keep up with Naruto.

	He had the skills.  She'd fought him personally.  He truly was one of
the best in the class.  She wanted to say the best, but even Naruto
had impressed upon her that he didn't truly know how he compared in
skill to, say, Sasuke, he just knew he'd win any initial confrontation
with anyone of their level.

	So Hinata was going to get stronger, too.  And just like Naruto, she
was going to hide her skill, even from her own father, who in her
eyes, was a pale substitute for Naruto, who cared about her.

	One day, Naruto would look at her with respect.   One day, he would
have love and tenderness in his eyes.  She would give herself to him,
and he would accept, and it would be glorious.  One day, she'd be his
wife.  For now, she contented herself with being his girl.

	So she performed spear point strikes on the training dummies until
her fingernails tore off from the constant impact with the densely
packed reeds.  She pushed her body to the limits as she slid away from
incoming attacks, often deliberately just a little too slow to avoid
being hit.  She threw herself into training with everything Naruto had
demanded of her, but with Naruto, she gave it to him willingly.

	With her father, she slid it under his nose.

	The thing that really got to her, though, the thing that made her
eyes hard and cold like Naruto's, but only when she was on her knees
on the dojo floor, gasping for air, her gaze averted down so no one
could see, that thing was that her father, of all people, should be
able to see through it.  She wasn't as practiced at hiding herself
away as Naruto was, and she avoided blows she shouldn't have been able
to at her supposed skill level.  There'd be a brief flicker of
approval when she really went all out, and she hated it, and would let
a simple strike leave her curled up and quivering in pain on the
floor, just so she could see the disappointment in his face again.
Her father should have known she was faking, but he'd already resigned
himself that his oldest daughter was a failure.

	Getting beat by a nobody like a Yamanaka was simply proof in his eyes.

	Well she'd show him.  She wasn't his failure.

	She was Naruto's.
	

	o/~

	
	"You want me to what?" he asked.

	"I want everyone in the class to acknowledge you," Hinata replied.

	Naruto was mentally kicking himself for being caught verbally
unprepared by such an odd statement from Hinata, but that paled in
comparison to the magnitude of what Hinata was asking.  He paused in
their get together sparring session to think.

	"You taught me to stop being afraid of losing.  You taught me that
it's not about your place in the class, it's what you can do."  She
had also paused, giving him time to think.  "But you said what you
have is a guaranteed first strike.  I know you can beat anyone in our
class.  I just want everyone else to know it."

	He raised one eyebrow at her.  "Why?"

	Hinata grew agitated.  "Because they disrespect you!" she blurted.
"They think you're a joke!  You're not!  You're NOT!"

	"Don't you mean that they see you as a joke, now?" he replied calmly.

	Hinata shook her head furiously.  "No, I don't care about that.  But
you deserve to be seen as the best!"

	The best, huh?  What would it be like, to be like Sasuke?  Hated by
nearly every boy in class?  Fawned about by little girls with the most
ridiculous crushes?  But no, pretty much everyone would hate him for
suckering them so completely, and again for having the gall to beat
their precious Sasuke.  He'd be unveiled.  Rivals would spring up out
of nowhere.

	No, better to stay anonymous.

	Naruto shook his head.  "No, Hinata, revealing myself would be
pointless.  We are shinobi, we keep secrets.  Even from each other."

	"But your grades!  You're still getting low scores," she protested.
"What if they decide that you're not good enough to graduate, even
though you're so skilled?"

	Naruto smiled slightly and nodded.  "You're right, but you don't have
to worry about that.  The right people know.  They won't fail me."

	"But-"

	"No, Hinata," he interrupted darkly.  Her insistence had dropped past
cute and into rebellion in an instant.

	Her mouth shut with an audible click of teeth, and she realized she
had overstepped her bounds.

	"I-I-I'm sorry, N-Naruto!" she gasped.  "I-I just wanted-"  Her words
choked off as her throat grew tight.  His expression scared her.

	He gave her a measured look, leaving her trembling.  After a long,
long moment, he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

	She tried hard not to flinch, but couldn't quite stop a single
shudder, which she was sure he noticed.

	"We'll wait.  We'll bide our time.  You'll show what you can do when
the time is right."  His eyes bored into hers.

	She gave him a hesitant, quivering nod.

	And for another long minute, he looked at her, almost as if he was
trying to decide something.  She'd have been afraid, but she knew him.
 She could see he was thinking about her, and even if he was angry, he
was thinking about her.

	Finally, he spoke up once more.  "Hinata, I'm your friend, right?"

	"Yes!" she exclaimed quietly.

	"And you are my friend," he said thoughtfully.

	She nodded firmly.  She didn't know where he was going with this, but
she agreed.

	"…there's someone I'd like to meet you."


	o/~


	Hinata was a Hyuga.  That meant she didn't have to keep glancing
sideways at her companion as they walked the streets of Konoha, she
could see her perfectly well out of the corner of her eye, even
without activating the byakugan.

	Naruko was an entirely new creature.

	She walked boldly and confidently, jutting her chest out and swaying
her hips with an easy confidence Hinata had never possessed.  She
smiled at everyone they passed, and everyone smiled back.  People
waved, and she waved back.  Some people even seemed to know her, and
once she exchanged brief greetings with a shopkeeper selling fresh
produce.

	Only one person knew Hinata by name, and that was Mizuki, their
academy instructor.  He paused to say hi, and gave Naruko several
interested looks as they exchanged easy greetings before Naruko begged
forgiveness and lead Hinata away.  Mizuki, a chunin, had no idea that
the lovely young girl was really one of his own male students.  Hinata
was impressed.

	Even as a girl, Naruto was greater than she was.

	The thought didn't bother her.  But Hinata was still surprised at
Naruto's solution to his self imposed restriction on being seen with
her in public.  Hinata had actually wanted him with her anyway, but
he'd insisted that her reputation was a valuable commodity and not to
be squandered on unnecessary things like being seen together.

	Whatever that meant.  Sometimes Naruto said things so profound they
mystified her.

	And…  Naruto laughed and joked with her.  Like young girls did with
each other all the time.  Except Hinata, who had never really done
things like that.   But she soon found herself drawn into easy banter,
somehow managing to hold up her end of the conversation while Naruto
deliberately rambled on about the best places to get ramen in Konoha.

	Their journey carried them approximately a third of the way into
Konoha, not far at all, to a nondescript apartment building two
streets away from a main road.  Most of the residents of the place
were older, married couples with decades together that had lived in
Konoha all of their lives, who hadn't bought real houses for various
reasons.

	"He likes this place because of that, you know," Naruko said
cheerfully.  "Every single civilian living in this building has a long
history here, with few trips outside Konoha and none outside the Fire
country at all.  A few shinobi live here, too, mostly administrative
types.  Quiet, serious types, the backbone of our infrastructure.
Everyone who lives here is easily monitored for loyalty and has very
routine schedules.  It makes them easier to keep an eye on."

	Hinata nodded.  "It sounds like this person takes security
seriously."  Paranoia, of course, being a silly way of describing what
was a very real issue for ninja.

	"He's very important in a not very well liked section of Konoha's
shinobi," Naruto replied with evident pride.  "He was the first person
to ever…  well…," Naruto said thoughtfully as he thought, "acknowledge
me."  The door to the entrance hall was not locked, but Hinata caught
glimpses of several eyes peeking at them, and knew that a number of
people hidden behind curtains and blinds had noted their arrival.

	"These people stick together," Naruto said aloud, noticing Hinata's
darting glances as she somehow followed the furtive activity going on
all around them.  "The arrival of two cute girls who have never been
seen before but seem to know where they are going will provide gossip
and speculation for weeks."

	"But why would anyone want to live around gossips?" Hinata wondered.

	Naruto shrugged, the motion setting her pigtails waving.  "Most are
just civilians.  The ones who aren't gossip in ways that keep the
important stuff private.  Or so I'm told.  I haven't learned long term
infiltration techniques yet."

	"You probably won't get a chance for quite a few years, either," a
voice said from behind them both.  "Your talents as a fighter mean
you're not likely to ever be picked for a lengthy infiltration.  Even
if you do seem proficient with the appropriate jutsu."

	Hinata squeaked and whirled.  But there was no one there.  She
glanced at Naruto, but the blonde girl was also glancing around,
trying to spot the voice's owner, apparently also without success.

	"Hinata," Naruto said quietly.

	Nodding, she formed seals.  "Byakugan!"

	The world exploded, and she perceived everything at once.  Hyuga
vision was unique, with a much wider field of vision and the ability
to focus on any part of it with perfect clarity.  After channeling
chakra to the eyes, however, the field of vision wrapped around their
entire body, and she gained the ability to focus on more than one
thing in more than one place, at a time.  It took only a few seconds
to spot the chakra, and only a little more concentration to see the
entire man, wrapped in chakra which obscured him, as he stood casually
to one side of the hall.  Hinata spun in place, looking in the
opposite direction, more at Naruto, if one was to judge by which way
her eyes looked.  Her hands blocked from the stranger by her own body,
she crooked a finger into a hook, pointing at him through her body.

	Naruto nodded, then dropped his transformation, becoming a boy once
more.  "Hello, Ibiki-san," he said formally, directing his words at
the empty air.  "I have brought someone I'd like you to meet."

	The man was just suddenly there, but of course he'd been there all
the time.  "Hello, Naruto-kun.  It's been a while.  Why don't you and
your…  friend, come into my apartment.  I have tea."

	
	"Thank you for the tea, Ibiki-san," Hinata said politely, easily
falling into the formal manner he and Naruto used with each other.

	"You are welcome, Hyuga-san," he replied, sitting down at his table
with the two of them after having poured the tea.  "I'm glad you came.
 I have been hoping Naruto would find someone appropriate to become
friends with for quite some time, now."

	Hinata blushed faintly.  "It is an honor, Sir."

	Ibiki turned to Naruto, who looked faintly uncomfortable, at least to
someone who knew him as well as Ibiki.

	"I thought a lot about what you said," Naruto blurted.

	Ibiki raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, keeping his face that same
silent, cool visage that broke countless numbers of his guests.

	Quickly schooling his expression to hide his nervousness, Naruto
declined to continue, turning instead to his guest.  "Hinata-chan, you
asked a question earlier about my real abilities.  Ibiki-san knows
what I can do better than I do.  Please explain what I have advised
about your father and sister."

	Giving him a doubtful look, she nevertheless sipped her excellent tea
and cleared her throat nervously.  Ibiki gave her an encouraging
smile, though the effect was ruined by his horrifically scarred face.
But despite her misgivings about spilling such a private issue with
someone she'd just met, Ibiki was someone who awed even Naruto.  She
didn't know exactly who he was, but he must be special.

	So she explained her difficulty with the Hyuga family training.  How
her little sister, despite her age, was able to defeat, and indeed
hurt her, in sparring sessions.  And how her father had dismissed her
as a failure.

	Ibiki didn't offer any sort of comment while he listened, and Hinata
found herself admitting more and more, though nothing she hadn't told
Naruto.  In fact, the scarred man listened to her with the same quiet
intensity that Naruto did.  She could see that he was special to
Naruto.

	She outlined Naruto's plan for her to gain ascendancy amongst her
family, hiding her abilities until she was overwhelmingly stronger
than those thought of as her betters.  Then, after displaying her true
prowess, her father would be humbled by her deception, and the upset
amongst her family hierarchy would give her plenty of opportunities to
secure her place.

	Ibiki sipped at his own tea.  "That is indeed a plan Naruto would
advise.  He is quite fond of deception tactics designed to make the
enemy underestimate you."

	Naruto winced.  "Yes, though I believe those tactics are the most
appropriate in both mine and Hinata-chan's situations."

	"Why?"

	"We've discussed my situation before-" Naruto began, but was interrupted.

	"Elaborate for your friend."

	Naruto paused, then took a deep breath and looked at Hinata.  "In my
situation, the villager and many ninja are hostile for an unknown
reason.  I do not understand why.  However, since hostility seemed
more pronounced after my early successes, I decided to fake being a
failure so that hostility was diluted to simple contempt, which
allowed me greater freedom of movement.  Once I have attained enough
skill, personal opinions of the majority of the village will be
outweighed by my usefulness, and I will gain influence accordingly."

	Ibiki smiled cryptically.  "And do you think you have gained enough skill?"

	"No," Naruto replied simply.

	"Oh?  How much farther do you have to go?" Ibiki wanted to know.

	"I am closer than I was."  He didn't elaborate farther.

	"Do you agree, Hyuga-san?" Ibiki asked, turning back to Hinata.

	Hinata bobbed her head assent.  "Naruto has gotten very strong.  I
believe him to be the best of our class."

	"Despite his grades?"

	"Despite his grades."

	"And do you think he is not yet strong enough to gain the respect of
his peers, despite the aforementioned unexplained hostility?"  His
eyes seemed to bore into hers, and despite the Hyuga being masters of
penetrating stares, Hinata hesitated.

	That was all the answer Ibiki needed, and Naruto frowned slightly.

	"Ah, so, Naruto, explain your reasoning for the advice you offered,"
Ibiki continued, as if Hinata had answered.

	"Much like my own situation, Hinata is held in contempt by her clan,"
Naruto replied, as if he'd been waiting for the question.  "Despite
her obvious potential, and despite being easily the strongest kunoichi
in the academy, her standing in her own family has suffered to the
point it affected her perception of herself.  Such irrational
treatment despite training claimed to help her meet her potential has
marked her family as an opponent, an enemy.  Since the perception of
her, again, much like my own image, is of a weakling, if she improves
slowly she may gain some notice but will never shed the reputation of
being a failure.  Only a surprise, crushing victory that leaves
everyone in awe will destroy her stigma.  As there are no fast routes
to skill, only by hiding her true abilities can she give the
impression of sudden power, leaving her enemies unsure exactly how
long she's hidden her agenda.  From underestimation to wary
overestimation almost instantly.  And with no clear idea of her
complete abilities and a certain indication of her power, her family
must give her deferential treatment."

	"Wordy, but clear enough," Ibiki said with mild amusement.

	Naruto flushed.

	"Well, that's a valid approach," he continued, looking again to
Hinata.  "So do you believe you have the ability to pull off the awe
inspiring victory the plan requires?"

	"I do," she said clearly.

	"You do?"

	"Yes, I do."  Because Naruto says I do.

	Toying absently with his empty teacup, he turned back to Naruto.
"And you, Naruto.  You have hidden your abilities very well.  But you
realize that the flaw in your plan is your grades, right?  It is fine
to fool your peers, but playing the fool to your teachers is not
necessarily an appropriate ploy."

	"Iruka-sensei knows.  I do not believe he will judge me from my
grades.  I could pass the final exam now, at any rate."

	Ibiki shook his head.  "You assume that the grades do not matter,
given that the exam guarantees graduation.  That is not entirely the
case."

	Naruto looked concerned.  "Really?  I thought that the grades were
just used to show a shinobi's potential for future assignments.
Iruka-sensei has seen me fight, spy, and infiltrate.  He knows I know
seals and sealing.  The only other skill I seem to have real aptitude
for isn't something they train for in the academy."

	"Well, Hyuga-san, it has been a pleasure to meet you," Ibiki said
without preamble.  "I would like to chat further, but I'm afraid I
have a pressing assignment at work it's time I got back to."

	Hinata blinked, surprised for several moments.  Wasn't he going to
explain what he'd said to Naruto?  "Oh, well, uh, okay.  Thank you for
having me."  She winced at her own hesitant words.  He kept jumping
conversational tracks, as if he were deliberately keeping her off
balance.

	She rose when Naruto rose, and followed him as they were escorted to the door.

	"By the way, Hyuga-san, has Naruto told you what I do?" he asked.

	She shook her head.  "No, Ibiki-san.  He says you have a very
important job, and that is all.  I have not asked further."

	"Would you like to know?"  He looked slightly expectant.

	She nodded.

	"I am the head of ANBU's torture and interrogation squad.  One day,
you should get Naruto to tell you the story of how we met.  You might
want to know what you're getting into if you're going to become
friends with Naruto."


	o/~


	"You wanted to speak with me, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, using his
public voice.  They were in the teacher's office after school, and
Iruka wasn't present, having other business elsewhere.  He looked at
the older man interestedly.  Mizuki was one of the people who knew he
hid his true skill, and had been present for some of Iruka's informal
tutoring sessions where he tried to gauge Naruto's abilities.

	Mizuki tapped the edges of a stack of papers until they made a neat
pile, then lay them on his desk in a tray.  "I have a special
assignment for you, Naruto."

	Naruto nodded brightly.  He liked special assignments.  Some of them
were hard as hell, but he'd learned valuable information from every
special assignment he'd ever been given.  And he'd never given up,
he'd completed them all.  Ibiki wasn't completely satisfied with the
results of his mission to make friends, but at least he was talking to
him again.

	"Your grades are horrible, Naruto.  You know that.  I don't know if
you are aware of it or not, but grades have a lot to do with your
final assignments as a shinobi, not just passing the academy.
Students particularly gifted at math are training in business,
finance, or cryptography.  Students with tracking skills often get
assigned to teams designed to make maximum use of those skills.  And
grades are our way of determining those skills."

	"You know I've deliberately failed those tests, though."

	Mizuki nodded.  "Yes, we're aware that you're much more than you
appear to be.  If we had a column in our grade books for 'deceiving
and manipulating classmates, teachers, and all of Konoha', well, I'd
be the first to mark down an 'A'."

	Naruto allowed himself a small grin.

	Mizuki grinned back, although his was a great deal more rueful.
"I'll admit it, kid, you're the best I've ever seen at infiltration
your age.  You even had me fooled for the longest time."  He paused.
"But, you're so good, no one who hasn't seen your abilities would
believe it.  And teacher recommendations only go so far.  Any jonin
looking to take a genin team will look at grades first.  And yours are
so bad most of them are going to just look right over you."

	Ah.  That was what Ibiki had meant.  Naruto was glad to finally have
that bit of information.  Getting anything out of Ibiki was like
hunting tiger mushrooms.  Easiest just to find someone else to give it
to you.

	"So, because you deserve better than that, it's been decided to give
you a special make up test, to show what you can really do.  This will
ensure you get picked by a jonin-sensei based off your real skills, so
you need to do your best."  He gave Naruto a cryptic smile.  "But you
shouldn't have any trouble.  After all, this is a solo mission, and
your goal is to be unobserved.  No one to break cover to."

	Naruto frowned.  That sounded a bit condescending.

	Mizuki noticed his expression, then hastened to explain.  "You're
getting a mission based on a simple mission type.  Locate and
retrieve.  There is a scroll of powerful jutsu in the Hokage tower,
that is your target.  Your goal is to sneak in, get the scroll, verify
that it does contain jutsu, get out, and return it to me.  For the
purposes of this mission I will be a sleeper agent, going about my
daily life.  Your primary goal is to get the scroll to me without
compromising my identity.  Your secondary goal is to avoid
compromising your identity.  Should you be chased, do not lead
pursuers to my location until you have avoided them."

	Naruto looked actually eager for the first time Mizuki had ever seen.

	"Where should I meet you?"

	"I will be waiting for you at training ground six at one in the
morning.  You have all evening and half of the night to complete your
task."

	"This is a difficult mission," Naruto said thoughtfully.  "What
support do I have?"

	"It is a difficult mission.  You don't think you make up for years of
barely passing grades with just an essay, do you?" Mizuki replied
sarcastically.  "You have no support.  Think of it this way, this
mission is the result of a long series of near failures.  Your only
hope to make up for it is to complete your mission with distinction.
No backup.  No support but what you can create on your own."  He gave
the blond a cruel smile.  "Of course, if you really aren't that good,
I guess we can-"

	"No!" Naruto all but shouted.  "I just wanted to be clear on the
situation.  I can do this."  His eyes positively blazed.  "I will do
this.  Now tell me about the scroll.  Where is it and what does it
look like."

	
	o/~


	"Naru…ko!" Hinata called, running quickly over to the blonde girl
carrying two shopping bags.

	Naruto looked up, surprised for a moment.  He'd been so busy planning
tonight's raid she hadn't noticed her approach.  "Oh, hi, Hinata-chan.
 What are you doing?" she said brightly.

	"Coming to find you," she replied, falling into step beside her.  "My
father is busy today, so I got some extra free time.  What are you
doing?  Shopping?"

	"Oh."  Naruto considered that for a moment, thought about his
mission, then decided it couldn't hurt.  "Guess what, Hinata, I've got
a mission!" she said, her voice breathy with excitement.  "I bought
some clothes to help with the mission."

	"A mission?  What kind?" Hinata asked.

	"It's like homework, Mizuki-sensei gave me a special assignment to
make up for all the bad grades I made."  She paused and scratched her
jaw.  "It's actually really hard," she admitted, before brightening.
"I love it!"

	Hinata smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm.  He was usually so serious, but
now that he had something to do, he was as bright and happy as he
always was pranking people in class.  "Really?  That's great, Naruko!"
she enthused.  "What are you supposed to do?"

	Naruto glanced around at the people on the street, then motioned for
Hinata to follow.  They soon found themselves on a rooftop overlooking
a deserted alley.  Rooftops were sort of cliche as clandestine meeting
places, but this wasn't exactly high security.

	"I'm supposed to steal a scroll from the Hokage's library," he began
quietly.  "It's full of some really amazing jutsu, or so I was told.
I can't wait to see it, I've been wanting to get a look in that
library since I was a kid!