This Time Around

Chapter 28; Yare Yare.

Naruto had to give it to them, some of them were plausible despite being impossible.

But of course, not everyone was Itachi.

"Yeah, something along those lines," Naruto told him. 

Shikamaru did a double take, looking at the other's reaction to gauge whether they were telling the truth or not.

His jaw dropped.

"You- You mean you're like really one of those?" He asked incredulously, picking his slack jaw from the floor.

"Yes," Naruto nodded. He had to give it to him, even though Itachi had a cooler reaction, it was still a child they were talking about.

"So are you- like- what, aliens who somehow got transported to our world, or what?" Shikamaru asked, his eyebrows raised in bafflement.

"Time travelers," Naruto answered helpfully, which, in fact, did not help.

Shikamaru's jaw dropped to the floor now, looking at them with a face that said he did not believe them. 

But then, his expression became one of realization.

"Holy Shit." He breathed looking at them.

"You- traveled through time? Like you know, isn't that- NOT POSSIBLE??" Shikamaru asked, and Naruto was impressed that he could still talk with how low his jaw had dropped.

Then he wondered, wasn't this the first time he had seen Shikamaru so stunned? He had to revel in this god-given moment.

Much to Naruto's displeasure, Shikamaru somehow regained himself, coughing into his fist.

"It is, I still don't know how we did it too." He said, after thinking.

"What, did god come down and suddenly say you go back in time and then send you here," Shikamaru asked, though his expression said that his words were not to be taken seriously.

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yes, yes he did."

Shikamaru made an expression on his face that looked done and curious and FLABBERGASTED, he didn't know how he managed to achieve such a feat.

But, it quickly soured into a constipated one, looking at Naruto with reverie and displeasure and FLABBERGASTEDNESS. Again, he didn't know how Shikamaru did that.

"Uhh," Naruto didn't know what to do now. 

Shikamaru was too shocked to know what to say and Sasuke, on the other hand, found his kunai very interesting apparently.

"Soo, uh, later?" He said unsurely, waving his hand and when Shikamaru nodded, he walked away.

From the path they took, Naruto got to the academy in less than a minute, just in time for recess to end.

He was thinking of bunking when he caught the teacher's eye. Shit, now they knew he was here.

He dragged himself into the class. He really wasn't feeling like studying theory. Then, the teacher announced a practical session.

Naruto sighed. Was this worse? Probably.

Naruto caught Sasuke's eyes halfway through the kunai-holding session. He swore the boy wasn't here a second before.

Damn Uchiha and their innate talent.

Then he remembered something from his past. It was the same field where Sasuke and Naruto once fought before when they were in the Academy.

He also remembered the teacher telling him he had to spar with Sasuke to level up his skills, when, in reality, was just to humiliate him.

"The last is Naruto," a few kids started sniggering at how Naruto was last in everything, even roll numbers. He wondered how kids even found that funny.

But considering how a lot of other kids' names should've come after him, it was probably on purpose too.

He stepped in front of the target, kunai in his hand held it in perfect position, and then threw it flawlessly in the center of the target.

Naruto realized what did and sighed. In his defense, it was muscle memory!

He wasn't supposed to throw it, it was just kunai holding practice.

And now everyone was gaping at him like fishes without water except Sasuke whose face looked in the middle of a smile and sigh.

Oops, he thought.

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