Naruto picked up the jacket on the table. "Kurama, you know this already. It is a common illness of all thinking creatures. You just dislike living that way."
"You have existed in the shinobi world for so long. You might consider learning the pattern. Otherwise, when you are free, some day you may suffer a loss at human hands again."
Inside the seal, Kurama closed his scarlet slitted eyes and fell silent.
He did not know why, but the closer his freedom felt, the more he hated this world.
That afternoon's class was at the dojo.
Naruto stood off to the side at the foot of the hall and casually passed a bag of chips to his neighbor. "Choji, is your father picking you up today?"
Choji's sleepy eyes flew open. He snatched the bag, tore it, and shoveled in a handful. After a few crunchy bites he nodded. "Mm, mm. He is picking me up all week."
On Naruto's other side, Shikamaru's ear twitched. He yawned. "Naruto, at least give me one too."
Naruto tilted his head and spread his hands. "You looked asleep. I did not want to bother you. I also thought you did not like chips. You could ask Choji..."
Hic.
They both turned. Choji was already crushing the empty bag into a ball.
Shikamaru sighed and glanced toward the center where Iruka stood. "If I counted right, after the next bout he will call your name. Your opponent should be Sasuke again."
"Are you still going to string the homeroom teacher along? I do not get the man. When you applied to graduate early, the Hokage told him your situation straight out."
Naruto's eyes glimmered. He lifted his hand and waved to Hinata as she walked onto the mat. "Is this not better. The homeroom teacher keeps pretending he does not know."
Shikamaru followed his gaze, and his look turned odd. The moment Iruka announced the start, Hinata took the initiative, and her palms struck sharp and clean. In less than thirty seconds she tapped her opponent to the ground.
Not at all the timid girl he had seen at the start of term.
"Next match, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto raised a hand. "Iruka-sensei, I forfeit."
The chorus of boos was immediate. Sasuke's fan club in particular swarmed him with praise as if they had been injected with boosters.
Sasuke let out a breath. He was not surprised by Naruto's usual decisive surrender. He even felt grateful that Iruka always paired them together.
Main reason, this Sasuke was only a clone.
He had wanted to forfeit as well, but the girls around him shouted louder and louder. The moment he opened his mouth, their noise buried his words.
Iruka, unfazed, checked the list and called the next pair.
Riiing.
The bell rang for dismissal. As students filed out, Hinata's cheeks bloomed pink. She came up to the trio.
"Naruto-kun."
She greeted them, then ducked her head. Her fingers poked together, one tip to the next.
Naruto stepped to her side. "Your Gentle Fist was beautiful. Hinata, you have grown stronger again."
Heat rushed to her cheeks. She glanced up and met his blue eyes, then hurriedly looked away. "N-Naruto-kun is amazing too. Why do you always forfeit..."
Naruto flicked a glance past her at someone walking their way. He spoke lightly. "I am afraid of bruising another person's pride."
Hmph.
A snort sounded behind them. Hinata turned, puzzled. "Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke cast them a chilly look, then turned on his heel without a word.
Shikamaru and Choji exchanged a glance. When Sasuke had been walking over they had expected trouble. Instead he snorted and left, which made no sense at all.
Once the crowd thinned, Naruto naturally laced his fingers with Hinata's and led her toward the gate.
Shikamaru's eye twitched, but he was used to the sight by now.
When the two up front had gone a ways, Shikamaru nudged the very oblivious Choji and followed. By the time they reached the school gate, Hinata had already joined her escort and was waving goodbye to Naruto.
What puzzled Shikamaru was that Sasuke still had not gone home. He sat on the swing across from the gate with two girls standing nearby, one of whom Shikamaru knew well.
Shikamaru came up to Naruto and tilted his chin. "Sasuke is waiting to block you?"
Naruto gave the swing a glance. "He is not the type to set up a grade school scuffle for no reason."
Choji trotted over. "Naruto, my father is here."
Naruto had seen Chōza Akimichi already. The man's physique stood out from a street away, not to mention the vivid red hair.
Chōza strode up to them. Choji pointed at Naruto. "Dad, this is my friend Uzumaki Naruto. Shikamaru you already know."
"Naruto, this is my father, Akimichi Chōza."
Naruto looked up. Chōza's face was all heavy lines, but he pulled a wide grin. "Heh. Choji talks about you two all the time. Thank you for looking after him, especially you, Naruto. He says you always share good snacks."
Naruto stepped forward with a smile and held out his hand. "Senior Chōza, you are too polite. Friends ought to look out for each other."
Chōza paused and blinked. The word senior sounded strange coming from a child. He glanced between Shikamaru and Choji, then shook Naruto's hand.
"See you tomorrow then."
Naruto kept the same easy smile and waved, then turned and headed toward home.
Chōza watched his back, still a little puzzled. After a moment he said, "Let us go home too. Shikamaru, ride with us. I will drop you off."
Shikamaru nodded and walked to Choji's side. As they left, he glanced once more down the road Naruto had taken and frowned.
Sasuke had gone after Naruto, and Sakura and Ino had followed Sasuke.
Naruto walked to a secluded stone pavilion and sat. He knew exactly who was tailing him. With a flicker of thought he stepped into the Mirror World.
He found the freshly copied data puppet of Akimichi Chōza and opened the related memory threads. A short while later he pulled back out.
Something was off. Chōza did have memories related to the Loulan mission. In those scenes there were An Lushan and Queen Sara of Loulan, and he saw Aburame Shibi and Kakashi as well. What he did not see was any memory of himself going to Loulan.
Did Father use a forgetting technique on everyone?
Then why was he the only one to awaken memories of an ancient Loulan at all?
Tap.
Sasuke strode into the pavilion with a cool face, swept a look around, and sat across from Naruto.
Naruto pointed toward an artificial hill outside the pavilion.
Sasuke did not raise his head. He lowered his voice. "I finally know why you always forfeit. From the very first day of school, the one in class is a clone."
Naruto's brows rose. "You followed me all this way just to say that?"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened. "Am I wrong?"
Naruto let out a short laugh through his nose, stood, and spoke in a dry tone. "Today I really am the original."
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