章 7: Team 7

"Naruto..."

"Hey..."

"Naruto!"

Frowning deeply in sleep as he looked up in a daze, Naruto yawned wearily and growled angrily still half asleep "Who the fuck is so loud?"

"..."

"Hoh" With a bulging vein on his forehead while squinting at the boy, a man of about 37 years crossed his arms and stood firmly in front of Naruto "So now I'm noisy?"

"I'm not the one who won't let you sleep" Snorting in annoyance as he rubbed his eyes, Naruto finally got a glimpse of who was standing in front of him and tilted his head in confusion "Who are you?"

"It's the new sensei..." Approaching Naruto's hatred, suddenly the same voice that woke him up whispered to him.

"Mn?" turning his gaze to his side and seeing the young man, Naruto and chuckled "Hello Shikamaru!"

Bringing his palm to his face while shaking his head, Shikamaru sighed.

Turning his gaze to the man still looking at him but this time with more fury, Naruto quickly stood up and bowed slightly with a serious face "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"..." Raising his eyebrows in surprise, the man was silent for a few seconds and nodded, then turned and commented "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, team 7"

Nodding with understanding as he sat back down and stretched his body, Naruto turned his gaze to Shikamaru and asked "Who is he? I don't remember seeing him?"

"..." Staring at Naruto's face for a few seconds as his gaze scanned him closely, Shikamaru was silent for a moment and asked "You passed the exam?"

"Isn't it obvious?" with a proud smile while pointing at the protector on his neck, Naruto continued "Evidently, that little test couldn't handle me."

Remembering his crude attempts at clones on the exam, Shikamaru shook his head and continued to stare at Naruto, then smiled quizzically and asked "Did you dye your hair?"

"Maybe" Resting his chin on his fist and ignoring the stares around him, Naruto unconsciously yawned again and fixed his gaze boredly towards the new sensei.

***

"Uzumaki Naruto..." Staring at the boy's reflection in the crystal ball, a masked man muttered, then looking at the Hokage on the other side of the ball and commenting "It looks different from what was described in the report."

"And it is" With a slight frown, Hiruzen was silent for a few seconds and sighed "Naruto has had a hard time lately with the loss of Iruka, but apparently much more than he expected... be understanding Kakashi"

"Disrespect towards his sensei shouldn't be overlooked so lightly" Frowning slightly, a beautiful woman with wild dark hair and crimson eyes commented "He does it shamelessly in front of the other kids, it can leave bad influences."

"..." Staring at the woman for a few seconds, Hiruzen spoke earnestly "Kurenai... I know you were hurt by Iruka's death, but don't take your anger out on the child."

"I would never do that" Frowning even more, Kurenai continued seriously "But we have to make them understand that being ninja is not a game. Seriousness and discipline shouldn't be an option, but an obligation."

"And have you already forgotten the pranks you played as a child?"

"..."

Shaking his head, Hiruzen shifted his gaze to Kakashi and spoke seriously "This time you're stuck with a complicated group Kakashi... I trust you'll know how to handle it."

Nodding silently while turning around, Kakashi commented "I need to see how the kids live."

"You have everything you need, go ahead"

***

"Here" Stretching something similar to a ticket towards Naruto but not taking his eyes off the sensei, Shikamaru muttered.

"Mn?" lowering his gaze, Naruto looked at the ticket and received it, then read its contents and raised his eyebrows "3 free ramens?"

"Happy birthday."

"W-what?"

"I know your birthday was a few days ago, but I hadn't been able to find you, so I'm giving it to you now" Yawning indifferently, Shikamaru continued "Enjoy."

Opening and closing his mouth as he holds the ticket tightly, Naruto's eyes quickly reddening as he struggles to swallow the bitter lump that formed in his throat, then quickly rubbing his eyes as he replies with a husky voice and a sincere smile "Thank you..."

Nodding while looking at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru fell silent.

Managing to recover after a few seconds while still wiping his reddened eyes, Naruto leaned his back on the seat and looked up at the roof "Shikamaru"

"Yeah?"

"You remember Yota?"

Frowning slightly, Shikamaru shook his head and asked "Who is Yota?"

With a bitter smile, Naruto replied "He used to be a friend of ours when we were much younger."

Reviewing what little he remembers of his childhood, Shikamaru shrugged and replied "I don't remember any Yota."

"I know" Turning his gaze to the window, Naruto muttered "But I do..."

Looking at Naruto's profile quizzically, Shikamaru showed a hint of worry in his gaze and opened his mouth to speak, but unable to get a word out, he finally shook his head and sighed wearily.

'To think that I forgot something so important' With even more bitter feelings inside him, Naruto thought 'Yota...he was the one who gave me my first birthday present...the first person who agreed to be my friend on that dark date'

"Yamaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji."

"*Sigh*" With a tired sigh as he turns his gaze towards the blonde with a depressed face in the distance, Shikamaru shook his head again and looked around, noticing how the previously noisy room became completely silent after Naruto's active presence in the place as gazes were constantly turned towards them.

"These are all the groups!" Looking up at the new ninja, the sensei continued "Your Jounin teachers will be approaching you at this very spot in the afternoon, until then the meeting is adjourned!"

"Finally" Standing up quickly while putting his hands in his pockets, Naruto patted Shikamaru's man and muttered "Until next time."

"Yeah..." Following Naruto's back as Naruto walks out, Shikamaru frowned slightly again as he thought silently.

"Shikamaru!"

Awakening from his thoughts as he heard a shout next to him, Shikamaru lifted his lazy gaze and looked at the blonde in front of him "What do you want Ino?"

"That really was Naruto?" Widely opening her big eyes, Ino asked in obvious disbelief.

"Of course it is" Quizzically as he noticed everyone looking his way and obviously listening to his words, Shikamaru asked "Why?"

"How dare he come here after killing Iruka-sensei!"

"Yes!"

"He should be expelled!"

Hearing the sudden exclamations from the rest of the children, Shikamaru frowned deeply and watched them for a few seconds, then shook his head, stood up and walked towards the door while clicking his tongue "tsk, annoying children"

***

-What's the rush, kid?

Running quickly through the village while gritting his teeth with a strange face, Naruto quickly reached the forest and dove deep while replying "I feel really bad Kurama".

-I warned you, your mind is at its limit-

"Damn, I know!" replying angrily as he runs even faster towards his training area, finally Naruto arrived and quickly took off his jacket, then threw it aside and with a reddened face, torn pupil and sharp fangs, he hit a log hard.

"DAMN!!!" Screaming bestially as his eyes reddened, Naruto ran to the next tree and repeating the process, smashed everything around him.

"..." Staring intently at Naruto's outburst while frowning slightly, Kurama sensed the emotions that flooded the boy and muttered "It's total chaos..."

Just as Kurama commented, Naruto currently really was a real chaos, reaching such a point, where his hands wouldn't stop shaking inside the classroom while he had to do his best not to smash the whole place and hit all those idiots who wouldn't stop looking at him.

It's really hard for him, since he himself doesn't understand what he really feels.

Happiness, then sadness, then hate, then happiness again.

So many feelings that come one after the other without stopping while numerous memories and thoughts complicate everything, Naruto had no better way to calm his difficult existence than to turn off his brain and just smash everything.

Dropping to the ground after more than an hour, Naruto takes a shaky breath as sweat runs down his forehead, only to clench his bleeding fists tightly and bring his forearm to his eyes as tears flow down his cheeks.

"..."

-...-

"*Sniff*" Managing to calm his sobs after another couple of minutes, Naruto quickly wiped his face with his clothes and sat down.

-Boy... would you like to have a chat?

With a faint smile while hugging his legs, Naruto stared into nothingness and muttered "It felt so weird Kurama... entering that room... feeling that silence... feeling those stares... and... *Sniff* not seeing I-iruka in front of me"

Unable to control himself again, Naruto's voice cracked as the tears flowed again "I-it's so painful, Kurama...it h-hurts me so much."

-Kiddo...

"It's okay, Kurama... I know you're not very good with words *Sniff*" Smiling painfully as he shakes his head, Naruto continued to cry silently as he looked off into nothingness and inhaled deeply after a few minutes.

-Why don't you go out to get something to eat with that Shikamaru guy? He was always a good friend to you, even right now...I think it would be perfect for you to calm your mind-

"I know, but I can't do it" Shaking his head while standing up, Naruto slowly walked towards the river and remained silent, then continued "It's all very complicated Kurama..."

-Why?

"Because even though I don't know exactly what I will do in the future..." Arriving by the river, Naruto bent down and washed his face, then wet his hair and continued sadly "I have decided that I can no longer live in this village, and that means that sooner or later I will have to defect and betray everyone's trust... I don't want to make it harder for anyone".

-...-

"Although there are still unavoidable situations" Sighing while shaking his wet hair and standing up, Naruto shook his head and walked to his jacket, then put it on and looked at the shredded bandages covered in blood surrounding his hands "I'll have to go home..."

***

"Naruto, you're late!"

Frowning slightly as he enters the empty class room, Naruto stares at the pink-haired young woman in front of him, then rolls his eyes and walks over to the dark-haired young man and sits down next to him.

"Naruto..." Seeing herself ignored by Naruto for the first time in her life, Sakura opened her mouth in surprise and muttered.

"Good morning guys" Noticing the stares on him, Naruto smiled awkwardly and continued "Sorry I'm late..."

"That's okay, our new sensei still hasn't shown up."

To Naruto's surprise, the one who answered this time was not Sakura, but Sasuke who stared at him for a second, then continued.

"I heard about Iruka-sensei... I'm sorry, I know how hard it is to lose the ones you love."

"..." Blinking for a few seconds in surprise, Naruto smiled faintly and replied "Thank you..."

"..." Looking at the duo strangely during, Sakura smiled awkwardly and went to sit next to Naruto, then looking at him closely with curious eyes and asked after a slight hesitation "Naruto... what exactly happened with Iruka-sensei?"

"..." Turning his gaze to Sakura, Naruto stared at her nervous face for a few seconds and shook his head, then leaned his back on the seat and asked "What exactly do you know?"

"Well... what everyone knows" Rubbing her fingers nervously, Sakura continued "They say that you teamed up with a rebel to steal a scroll... and that Iruka died to stop you... is it true?"

Letting out a small laugh while shaking his head, Naruto turned his gaze to Sakura and stared into her eyes, then smiled painfully and asked "We've known each other all our lives, Sakura... even though I know you never really liked me and in a way I deserve it... it really hurts me to know that even you came to believe that nonsense."

"I-I was just asking..." Lowering her gaze, Sakura stuttered.

Shaking his head while smiling bitterly, Naruto looked forward again and was silent for a few seconds, then sighed "And that's what hurts, the asking... because if this had happened to you, I would have never doubted your person, not even for a second."

"Naruto, I-"

"Sorry, I had to help a granny carry her stuff" Entering the room while interrupting the conversation, Kakashi stared at the seated trio and remained silent "What's wrong, why the long face?"

"No one likes to wait" Totally ignoring that he himself just arrived, Naruto yawned lazily and replied.

"Mmmm" Looking at the trio, Kakashi shook his head and turned around "This looks like a funeral, let's go somewhere nicer."

Knowing he has no choice, Naruto stood up and jumped on the table, instantly following Kakashi's footsteps while Sasuke followed after a few seconds.

"..." Watching her team leave, Sakura was silent for a second or so and looked down with a mixture of embarrassment and sadness, then sighed and quickly followed them.

Walking silently through the long corridors of the academy, the group went up the stairs and arrived at a beautiful rooftop with various flowers and trees on the sides, then passed through the garden and looked at Kakashi who sat on the railing.

Without needing them to say more, Naruto sat down on the small cement staircase and hugged one of his legs.

"..."

"So..." With everyone already seated, Kakashi stared at each of them and continued "How about we introduce ourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Cocking her head to the side while hugging her legs, Sakura asked.

"The basics" Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi continued "What they like, what they don't like, their dreams, their hobbies, their names, whatever."

"..."

"Well, I'll start" Not minding the half-heartedness, Kakashi thought for a few seconds and continued "I'm Hatake Kakashi... I have no intention to tell you my likes and dislikes... and about my dream... I have few hobbies."

"So the only thing we find out is your name" Rolling her eyes while looking sideways at the two boys beside her, Sakura muttered.

- - -