Here I Am

2

After that mind-numbingly boring first day, Nagisa took to bringing library books to class and reading whenever she got a chance. Any kind of book she thought might be helpful in the future, she brought. Naruto alternated between sitting with her and Sasuke and sitting with Hinata- whom the blond had started getting along quite well with. Whenever he sat with her and Sasuke, he wound up chatting with Shikamaru and Choji. They got along quite well, from what she saw. Naruto didn't even seem to notice Choji's weight. The closest he got was asking about the other boy's snacks of the day and what his favorites were.

It was during lunch on the third day when Nagisa and Shikamaru had their first real talk. She prefaced by explaining how she figured things would work- she'd describe a scenario from one of her dreams and see what he thought. Then, she'd bring up the what-ifs- the other possibilities stemming from his thoughts- and listen to any counters he could think of. That, or she'd bring up a situation, any knowledge she had around it, and ask what he thought was a good plan. She mentioned that she didn't mind if he took some time to answer or sought help from someone else, as long as her name didn't come up unprompted. (She claimed it was embarrassing to have someone she didn't know know about her nightmares.)

The first few times they met like that, she tried not to delve into anything too strange or serious. She sprinkled in a question about Obito- "What if you faced an opponent that couldn't be touched? Who had the power to instantly vanish into thin air, out of this plane of existence?"- and about Kaguya. ("I dreamed the legend was true. About Kaguya and the Sage. That she was revived and we had to fight her."

He looked at her and blinked. "Scary."

That nearly startled a giggle out of her- squished to a snort. "Yeah. Crazy, too.")

As their little lunch sessions continued, she could start to see his interest getting piqued. He started taking their hypotheticals a bit more seriously, taking his time to answer them instead of blurting out the first thing that came to mind. His genius was quickly apparent in their talks. If she hadn't made it to adulthood in her previous life or remembered that life, she probably wouldn't have been able to keep up.

She didn't feel bad about using her memories to her advantage here. She'd need every little boost if she wanted to live, let alone be able to save anyone like she wanted to. (If she never had to see Naruto mourn, it'd be too soon. And- sage damn it- the blond loved Konoha with all he was- with everything his little body had to give. Meaning if she wanted him truly happy, she couldn't let Konoha burn or the people be dragged into unnecessary pain.)

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Naruto and Nagisa's routine changed- predictably- drastically after entering the Academy. They had something akin to friends with the Nara, Akimichi, and Hyuga heirs, and most waking moments were spent either with them or taking care of themselves. Sasuke wound up hanging around every other day or so for a time because his brother looked genuinely happy when the younger told him he did (as he claimed that first time he joined them, looking slightly snobbish and like he didn't want to be there. That expression faded fast when he and Naruto got into a brawl less then 10 minutes later). The orphans spent some time training with the others- mainly after Nagisa asked really, really nicely and explained they didn't have anyone else to teach them.

Training with their friends was the best thing that could have happened to her and Naruto. Their friends actively helped the blond improve- Hinata was a godsend with her patience and her knowledge of various techniques- instead of ignoring or actively harming Naruto's education. Hers had suffered the minute the instructors realized she was actively helping him, and she was soon left to her own devices by them despite obviously not knowing much in the way of practicality.