now is the winter of our discontent (Pt.13)

[cywscross]

Fandom: Naruto

Summary: Summer.

 

Naruto is dying of boredom.  That, or he’s dying of the sudden heat wave that hit Konoha a week ago and hasn't had the decency to move on yet.  But it’s the last day of school before the break, and if Shino can sit there in a friggin’ parka like it’s the middle of winter, then Naruto in a t-shirt and shorts can stand it too.

 

“Naruto!”

 

Naruto doesn't even have energy to startle in his seat, but then, Anko-nee has been ambushing him out of the blue since he was five, so Iruka-sensei’s voice – however strident – isn’t going to cause that much of a reaction, if any.

 

He does straighten from his sluggish slouch though.  Maru-ji has this thing about showing decorum, even to people who are rude to you, and it isn’t just a matter of being polite either, it’s about keeping a level head and working the situation to your advantage.  Naruto isn’t that good at it yet, especially when he gets emotional, but he’s getting better.

 

So he schools his expression into something more attentive.  “Yes, Sensei?”

 

“List the main ranks of the shinobi force in Konoha, lowest to highest.”

 

Naruto quickly checks his mental tally.  He’s been asked five questions in class this week, he’s answered two correctly, and he scored a 79% on a quiz.  Answering one more correctly shouldn't be a problem.

 

“Genin, Chuunin, Tokubetsu Jounin, Jounin, ANBU, and Hokage,” He rattles off.  He almost adds Root, but that’s supposed to be a secret so he refrains.  ANBU isn’t something taught at the Academy either, and the civilian kids wouldn't know about Konoha’s Black Ops division yet, but most of the clan kids would have heard.

 

“There’s no such thing as ‘ANBU’,” A pink-haired girl – Haruno something – wrinkles her nose at him.  She’s one of the kids whose parents have probably told her that Naruto’s the spawn of the devil, seeing as he’s never done anything to her and she still hates his guts.  He has a vague memory of her being shyer but that was a while ago, and she’s the Yamanaka heir’s best friend now, although lately, Naruto thinks there’s been some tension between them because he’s seen how they've both taken to alternating between directing gooey eyes at Uchiha Sasuke of all people and scowling at each other.

 

When he told Anko-nee, she says that they're ‘budding fangirls and a menace to society’, and that he’s to ‘avoid lowering himself to their level in any way’ if he doesn't want her to kick his ass from here to Suna.

 

“Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai,” Naruto recites before Iruka-sensei can say anything.  He pins her with a flat stare.  “Konoha’s Special Assassination and Tactical Squad.  They report directly to Hokage-sama.”

 

“He’s right, Sakura,” Iruka-sensei interjects, and Sakura – right, it’s something really generic and unimaginative – blushes a red that clashes horribly with her hair.  The Chuunin instructor glances questioningly at Naruto.  “It’s not something in any Academy textbook though.  Where did you hear it from?”

 

“My uncle told me,” And god did that feel good to say.

 

“Everybody knows you're just an orphan,” Another girl pipes up with a sneer.  Watanabe something or other.

 

Naruto barely spares her a glance.  “Good for everybody.  Nice to know Konoha’s rumour mill is working at full capacity.”

 

Iruka-sensei sends a reprimanding look at both of them but doesn't pick on Naruto as the wrongdoer.  It’s why Naruto is more tolerant of this instructor than any of his previous ones.  He’s gone from ‘You’ to ‘Uzumaki’ and finally to ‘Naruto’ in just a few months, and while Iruka-sensei still looks at him with neutral eyes, and he’s not as personable to Naruto as he is to his other students, he does treat him without prejudice when it comes to education.

 

Watanabe doesn't know how to shut up.  “Who would want to be related to you anyway?  My mom said that you've never been adopted cuz no one wants to take care of a monster like you.”

 

It’s quite clear that she’s just quoting word for word.

 

“Well then,” Naruto drawls in a completely uninterested tone of voice.  “It’s very fortunate for me that my happiness does not in fact hinge on your mother’s opinion of me.”  He arches an eyebrow at her.  “Now are you done?  Can we please get back to the lecture?  None of us here are getting any younger waiting for you to finish.”

 

“Naruto, enough,” Iruka-sensei admonishes sternly, but then he looks over at an angry (or possibly embarrassed, or both) Watanabe and tells her off instead.  “Ami, you’ll leave any insults out of my classroom or I’ll put you in detention.”

 

Watanabe flushes like Haruno and sinks a few inches lower into her seat.

 

“Now,” Iruka-sensei continues briskly, turning back to the chalkboard.  “Moving on with the...”

 

Naruto half tunes out Iruka-sensei again.  He’s already more or less covered this lesson with Maru-ji so it’s all review for him.

 

~0~0~0~

 

Summer break is spent mostly on home turf where Maru-ji’s seals never cease to frustrate Naruto’s ANBU watchers.  Once, one of them was even stupid enough to grab Naruto by the arm just as Naruto crossed over the line into Maru-ji’s property as if that would let the ANBU cross over as well.

 

Maru-ji’s seals go ballistic.

 

The ANBU in question is blown back twenty feet, head over heels, and slams into a tree with a sickening smack, but not before an anaconda appears out of thin air and strikes, lightning-fast, its fangs sinking into the ANBU’s arm even as they're both thrown away from Naruto and Maru-ji’s property.  The snake disappears but the ANBU doesn’t get up.

 

“He shouldn't have assaulted me,” is all Naruto says when he’s called up in front of the Hokage.  “The seals would never have reacted aggressively if he’d approached with peaceful intentions, he would've just hit a barrier.  Besides, look on the bright side – the anaconda wasn't even poisonous; he should count himself lucky.  What kind of moron tries to force his way into a shinobi’s home, much less a Sannin’s home anyway?  Even when the seals weren’t fully activated, at least Hatake-san was smart enough to wait until I was near the edge of the property before he ambushed me.  This ANBU guy deserves everything he got.  He has no right to press charges.”

 

Sarutobi stares gravely at him.  “The ANBU received five broken ribs and a concussion, in addition to the snake bite.”

 

Naruto shrugs and repeats, “He deserves everything he got.”

 

After that, Sarutobi dismisses him with a perturbed frown on his face.

 

Nobody tries to grab Naruto again, and Naruto spends the rest of summer hanging out with Anko-nee, avoiding the villagers, trying new recipes, showing up for pointless fortnightly meetings with the Hokage (Naruto actually skips twice, mostly because he got too immersed in a fuuinjutsu scroll both times and forgot), and training his ass off.  The tree-walking exercise that Anko-nee shows him at the beginning of August gives him more trouble than anything else ever has but Naruto is determined to get it down before Maru-ji comes home.